


Naruto: Appendices

by ncfan



Category: Naruto
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-13
Updated: 2016-07-15
Packaged: 2017-11-29 02:58:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 57,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/681939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ncfan/pseuds/ncfan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A guide to the Naruto universe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sunagakure no Sato: Map

**Author's Note:**

> First off, all of this is head-canon. Most of it is not supported by canon evidence. Second, the appendices are an ever-expanding work in progress. For those of you who actually care about any of this, updates will be sporadic.

**Sunagakure - Whole Map**

**Sunagakure - Northern Half**

**Sunagakure - Southern Half**

 

I couldn't get my printer to scan the picture in any way that would allow me to upload the whole image, with it being large enough for the notes on the map itself to be easily read. If I figure out how to do so, I'll reupload it. For now, please accept this.

  
 **Notes** :

 **1** : First and foremost, this map is complete head-canon. It is not canon-supported.  
 **2** : Not all of the cisterns, nor all of the wells in Sunagakure are present on this map. I've just drawn in the largest ones.  
 **3** : The Immigrant Quarter is the section of the city where, traditionally, citizens of Sunagakure who were either not born in the city (or the nation) have lived. It is the poorest part of the city.  
 **4** : "The Barracks" is a nickname for the housing complexes predominantly inhabited by single, of-age chunin, Tokubetsu jonin, or jonin.  
 **5** : The buildings titled "Housing for underage shinobi without families" are just that. They are subsidized housing complexes, usually inhabited by either orphaned Academy students or genin who have no other family to take care of them; the salary made by a chunin, a Tokubetsu jonin, or a jonin, is such that they can afford better housing, but no one forces the inhabitants out until they come of age. The buildings are also occasionally inhabited by civilians with nowhere else to live. The housing within the Immigrant Quarter is inhabited by underage shinobi who hail from outside of Sunagakure; the housing outside of the Immigrant Quarter is inhabited by Suna natives.

[Credit: Myself. I drew it.]


	2. The Treaty of 2523

The Treaty of 2523

In March of 2523 AGB1, seven years after the close of the conflict that is to be known as the First Shinobi World War, a convention is held in Tetsu no Kuni, called by the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure, to discuss the rules of war. Invitations are sent to Kaze, Mizu, Tsuchi, and Kaminari no Kuni.

**Tetsu no Kuni—Arbitrator**

            Nobuyuki, General of Tetsu no Kuni

**Hi no Kuni—Delegates**

            Sandaime Hokage  
            Jouda Sadao, Councilor of Konohagakure  
            Masanori, Head of the Konohagakure Medical Corps.  
            Morita Riichirou, Councilor of Konohagakure  
            Nara Tomoya, Jonin Commander of Konohagakure  
            Shimura Danzo, Commander of the Konohagakure ANBU

**Kaminari no Kuni—Delegates**

            Sandaime Raikage  
            Aleksandr, Head Ninja of Kumogakure  
            Fuyuki, Councilor of Kumogakure  
            Kokawa Ryota, Head of the Kumogakure Medical Corps.  
            Lukas, Headmaster of the Kumogakure Shinobi Academy  
            Yokoyama Saburo, Councilor of Kumogakure

**Kaze no Kuni—Delegates**

            Nidaime Kazekage  
            Chiyo, Head of the Sunagakure Puppetry Corps.  
            Jahan, Councilor of Sunagakure  
            Naoya, Head of the Sunagakure Medical Corps.  
            Shinichi, Councilor of Sunagakure  
            Toshihiro, Commander of the Sunagakure ANBU

* Neither Tsuchi no Kuni nor Mizu no Kuni attend the convention. Tsuchi no Kuni answers the summons; Mizu no Kuni does not.  
** The newly-formed Ame no Kuni petitions to be allowed to attend the convention, and is ignored.

\---

Findings of the Treaty

**Article 1.  
**           Soldiers will not attack solely civilian targets.

 **Article 2**.  
         Genocide of any sort against an ethnic group, a religious group, or against a nation shall henceforth be prohibited.

 **Article 3.  
**          Prisoners of war, regardless of sex, nationality, ethnic group, or religion, shall be free from the threat of sexual assault.

 **Article 4**.  
         Prisoners of war, regardless of sex, nationality, ethnic group, or religion, shall not be set to forced labor.

 **Article 5**.  
         Soldiers or civilians bearing official messages to enemy governments in times of war shall not be killed, imprisoned, or harmed in any way. They will be escorted to the seat of the enemy government, and escorted back to their own lands.

 **Article 6.  
**         Foreign diplomats or emissaries residing in an enemy country at the time that war is declared, along with all of their retainers or family members who might be present with them, shall not be killed, imprisoned, or harmed in any way. They shall instead be escorted back to their own lands.

TO VIOLATE ANY OF THESE STATUTES WHEN AT WAR WITH ANOTHER SIGNING NATION SHALL HENCEFORTH BE CONSIDERED A WAR CRIME.

\---

Statutes proposed, but rejected:

1\. Medical shinobi shall henceforth not be specially targeted during wartime and considered “untouchable.” (Proposed by Kumogakure)  
2\. Soldiers will not be specially targeted during wartime due to their clan or a kekkei genkai that they possess. (Proposed by Konohagakure)  
3\. Shinobi clans, whether or not they possess a kekkei genkai, shall not be targeted for extermination during times of war. (Proposed by Konohagakure)  
4\. Enemy soldiers will not target farmland during times of war. (Proposed by Sunagakure)  
5\. Soldiers will not be specially targeted during wartime due to their being puppeteers. (Proposed by Sunagakure)  
6\. Prisoners of war, regardless of sex, nationality, ethnic group or religion, shall be rendered full medical aid as needed. (Proposed by Konohagakure)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1: AGB—After the Great Burning; see The Footsteps of God. I have a timeline in the works, but it is massive (and more importantly, nowhere near being done), and I'm not going to publish it until it's done.


	3. Kaze no Kuni: Some Notes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some notes on life in Kaze no Kuni.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The culture of Kaze no Kuni, as with all the other nations in the Naruto-verse, can be considered a sometimes smooth, sometimes messy fusion of cultures that exist in our world, with some elements completely unique to it.
> 
> This chapter itself is a work in progress; as more details are thought up that can flesh out the culture of this nation, they will be added on to the chapter.
> 
> List of Topics:
> 
> 1\. Information concerning the age of adulthood, drinking age, etc.  
> 2\. Social Notes  
> 3\. Social Taboos  
> 4\. Shinobi Life  
> 5\. Geographical/Environmental Notes  
> 6\. The Five Golden Rules of the Desert  
> 7\. The Ten Golden Rules of the Sunagakure Puppetry Corps  
> 8\. The Four Sects of the Sunagakure Puppetry Corps  
> 9\. Some Notes on Summoning in Sunagakure  
> 10\. Kaze no Kuni Holidays and Festivals

****Kaze no Kuni** **

**Information concerning the age of adulthood, drinking age, etc.  
**

  * Age of Majority—18
  * Drinking Age—15
  * Age of Consent—15
  * Mourning Colors—White for children, black for adult men, and yellow for adult women
  * Wedding Colors—no set color
  * ANBU masks— Cat, Dog, Wolf, Fox, Hawk, Owl, Eagle, Snake, Lizard, Bat, Baboon, Jackal, Mongoose
  * Religions— Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, local polytheistic religions; Atheism also has a presence in Kaze no Kuni
  * Population: 
    * Total Population: 320,0001
    * In Sunagakure: 120,000
    * Military Population: 15,000



**Social Notes**

  * In Kaze no Kuni, the convention of marriage as a legally-binding contract never really caught on. When romantic/sexual partners choose to move in together, they are considered married, and when they move out, they are no longer considered married. People who feel the need to “officially” marry are sometimes considered rather odd, and will have a hard time finding a priest/civil official who actually knows what to do. Of course, there are plenty of people who pair off, form long-term relationships and live together their whole lives, but they never “officially” marry. Old-time couples breaking up still have huge blow-ups over shared property, custody of children, things like that. And, _of course_ , a lot of people take one at Kaze’s practices, point their fingers and scream: “Degenerate!”
  * In Kaze no Kuni, no one uses surnames. As a result, there are no clans, given that it becomes significantly more difficult to define just what a clan is when no one adheres to the conventions provided by a family name. Because of that, descent is traced through the mother, since, in a nation where marriage is considered “odd” and pretty much anything can happen on a mission, it’s a lot easier to keep track of who your mother is than your father. End result: whereas in other nations only kekkei genkai clans utilize matrilineal descent, in Kaze no Kuni, _everyone_ uses matrilineality to keep track of their relatives. 
    * Those immigrating into the country are required to discard their surnames.
  * When someone is referred to as “Hindu”, this does not necessarily mean that they are adherents of the Hindu religion. Those practicing Hinduism were driven out of the Empire to the West, and those who immigrated to Kaze no Kuni, and their descendants, are referred to as “Hindu” whether they still practice the religion or not.
  * Everyone, shinobi and civilians, men and women, adults and children, wear kohl around their eyes, as a means to reduce the glare of the sun.
  * In the towns and villages of the northern mountains, prostitutes wear a red sash around their waist when working.
  * Many of the residents of Kaze no Kuni, regardless of nationality, wear nazar (Evil Eye) pendants about their necks to ward off bad luck and bad fortune.
  * Many parents will hang special amulets over the cradles of their newborn parents, to ward off the demons believed to cause crib death.
  * In the cities, towns and villages of Kaze no Kuni, those with the greatest social status live towards the center of the village, and those with the least social status live on the outskirts of the village. The lowest of the low on the social ladder live in the village walls (if the walls are thick enough to accommodate dwellings), eking out a meager living. It is considered a curious choice to choose to live there if you do not have to.
  * In restaurants in Kaze no Kuni, you might notice a difference in the widths of some of the tables, and where they are put. Typically speaking, in restaurants run by “native” sedentary residents of Kaze no Kuni (as in, those who are members of the ancestral culture of the land, and currently live a sedentary lifestyle) place wider tables towards the middle of the room, and thinner tables pressed towards the walls, often at windows. The wider tables seat more, and the thinner ones seat less. The reason for that is that wider tables are meant to seat groups that are not “close” socially, that is to say, not couples. The thinner, smaller tables are meant to seat couples: they are given privacy and have less personal space between them. That’s because among the “native” residents of Kaze no Kuni, personal space between couples is significantly less than personal space among non-couples or family members.
  * As for immigrants, especially the Hindu immigrants from the West, personal space is significantly less for all members of society, except complete strangers and between those of different social classes. The tables in _their_ restaurants are long, lower to the ground, and have seating very close together.
  * The Bedouins practice close personal space between members of the same gender, but further away between members of the opposite gender.
  * Rules on physical contact: 
    * Among the “native” sedentary residents of Kaze no Kuni, casual touch is not practiced between people who are not family, close friends, or romantically/sexually involved.
    * Among Hindu immigrants from the West, those of the opposite gender generally do not display physical affection in public; when done so between a man and a woman who are unrelated, this can be and often is interpreted as flirting. However, physical contact in public, between members of the same gender who are good friends or members of the same/opposite gender who are family is considered acceptable; under these circumstances, hand-holding and hugging is common.
    * Among the Bedouins, physical contact is not practiced in public, regardless of gender.
  * Rules on eye contact: 
    * Among the “native” sedentary residents of Kaze no Kuni, women are not to make eye contact with unrelated men whom they do not know. Otherwise, eye contact is acceptable and expected—a lack of eye contact can be considered rude, or a sign that one is lacking in confidence or afraid.
    * Among Hindu immigrants, there is no gender-divide on eye contact. Sustained eye contact is considered friendly and polite. However, when a subordinate is speaking with their superior, keeping eyes lowered is also considered polite and correct.
    * Among the Bedouins, indirect eye contact can be mistaken for ignoring someone. Direct eye contact is considered preferable. However, direct eye contact sustained for too long is considered a threatening gesture, so it’s considered advisable to occasionally look away.
    * Foreigners can be expected to be stared at by any of these groups.
  * Generally speaking, everyone in Kaze no Kuni, from the native residents to the immigrants, either have naturally a very direct speaking style, or learn quickly to adopt one; many foreigners consider them “blunt.” Someone with an indirect speaking style might be considered “shady.”
  * Wasting water is frowned upon. Crying in public is also frowned upon, because it’s considered a waste of water. If you know water ninjutsu, using the water in a local well/spring/cistern/whatever to perform water ninjutsu is a good way to get driven out of town with rocks and sticks (If you’re lucky). 
    * Oddly, though, no one considers it unacceptable to spit in public (Provided you do it outside).
  * Generally, everyone in Kaze no Kuni, both natives and immigrants consider it rude to fill a guest’s glass all the way to the top—this signals that you’re hoping that they’ll leave soon. Instead, fill their glass or cup between halfway and two-thirds of the way to the top—this signals that they’re welcome in your home.
  * Don’t talk business over food.
  * When you are a guest in someone’s home, do not eat everything on the plate—this is considered impolite. If you want more food, simply ask for it—it will be readily given to you and asking for more food is considered more of a compliment to the host’s cooking than simply saying that it’s good; saying that a host’s cooking is good than not asking for more of it is an empty compliment.
  * When those living in the region come of age, they no longer wear the white mourning clothes worn by children, but instead black (men) or yellow (Women). Thus, on someone’s eighteenth birthday, someone close to them might joke “Time for those black/yellow mourning clothes” or something to that effect.



**Social Taboos**

  * Sedentary “native” residents: 
    * Taking the name of God (whatever God you worship) in vain.
    * Waving your eating utensils at anyone.
  * Bedouins: 
    * Shaking your finger or your fist in someone’s face.
    * Being drunk, in public or in private.
    * Exposing your shoulders in public.
    * Offering snake as food to a guest.
  * Hindu immigrants from the West: 
    * Pulling on or boxing someone’s ears (Since the ears are considered sacred, and grasping the ears signifies sincerity or repentance).
    * Winking or whistling at others. (This can cause some “culture clash”, since winking is considered an acceptable behavior among the sedentary “natives”, and whistling is considered acceptable among both the sedentary and Bedouin natives of Kaze no Kuni).
    * Touching people or objects with your shoes/feet.
    * Uttering the name of a deceased individual, for the first three months after they’ve died.
    * Violating the Hindu religion’s dietary laws (If you’re still an actively-practicing Hindu).
  * Shared taboos: 
    * Eating the flesh of cats, dogs, camels, horses, hawks, or pigs. Cats and dogs are considered cherished pets. Camels and horses are vital in transportation, and hawks in message carrying for shinobi. The consumption of pork is forbidden among Muslims (Most of the other dietary prohibitions of Islam have been lost to time in this part of the world). Though none of the other residents of Kaze no Kuni consider pork taboo from a religious standpoint, it’s generally not eaten, and is difficult to find in most parts of the country anyways.



**Shinobi Life  
**

  * The system of genin training is very different in Sunagakure than it is in Konohagakure. In Konoha, three genin (almost always the same age) are assigned to a jonin sensei until they become chunin. That jonin is their only sensei and that jonin is the only one who trains them. 
    * In Suna, it’s a bit different. For one thing, a four-man cell can be populated by shinobi of all ranks; for another, while it is more common for jonin to train genin, Tokubetsu jonin and chunin do as well. There are not always three genin in a cell; sometimes a sensei simply trains one or two at a time. Also, a Wind user is often assigned to a puppeteer to watch their backs while they fight. Finally, genin are not simply trained by the one who is designated their sensei. Many who are higher in the ranks may contribute to the training of a single genin or genin cell.
  * At fully-functioning border outposts that also serve as a customs site, there are usually seventy employees (both shinobi and civilian) stationed there at all times. There are the sixty guards, who only stay on for a month. As for the permanent employees, there is the supervisor, usually a semi-retired shinobi, three medics manning the infirmary, also semi-retired shinobi, the caregiver for the messenger hawks at the outpost (this one can be either a shinobi or a civilian), and the maintenance workers, who are usually civilians from the nearest village. 
    * There are four border guard shifts. 
      * Morning: 6:00 A.M.—12:00 P.M.
      * Day: 12:00 P.M.—6:00 P.M.
      * Night: 6:00 P.M.—12:00 A.M.
      * Graveyard: 12:00 A.M.—6:00 A.M.
      * Day and Graveyard tend to be the least popular shifts.
    * At the customs booth, anyone traveling into the country receives a seal on their passport, the Immigration Seal. This seal proves that the travelers are in the country legitimately. How you are treated if you can not furnish your passport with this seal upon it differs between cities and the desert. In a city, you will be jailed until your passport can be found, or until confirmation can be had from the customs center you passed through that you were really there, a process which can and often does take several days. If you are found in the desert, however, you will be killed and your goods confiscated, no exception.
    * The tariff on imports in Kaze no Kuni is six percent of your total goods, in hard currency.
  * All kunoichi of childbearing age are permitted access to birth control pills, free of charge, if they wish for it.
  * In Kaze no Kuni, Academy students with psoriasis are not permitted to work in the field, as psoriasis can impede the ability to sweat and lead to death in the heat of the desert. These students, if they so wish, can continue on into the fields of code-breaking, medical ninjutsu (as is studied at a hospital, rather than by tutors in the field), or other lines of work that do not take them out into the field.
  * Shinobi in general, but kunoichi much more so tend to be looked down for showing an overt liking for the “finer things of life”, such as fine clothes or good food or jewels, and tend to be branded “soft”, or too much like a civilian for doing so. As noted above, there is an especial pressure on kunoichi to adopt a utilitarian mode of dress and dietary habits.
  * There is considered a curse on the office of Kazekage, since the first four were assassinated (And the Godaime technically was as well, though he was brought back to life). As such, a rather macabre joke among shinobi is to wish that people they dislike or friends they’re currently disagreeing with, to hope aloud that they’ll become the next Kazekage.
  * It’s common among shinobi during wartime to joke about and make light of death.
  * While Sunagakure military fatigues are brown, puppeteers usually wear black fatigues instead.
  * The sort of war paint worn by puppeteers is usually only worn by male puppeteers, and not even by all of them. The paint tends to itch and makes them even more distinctive on the battlefield than they already were, which can be a problem.



**Geographical/Environmental Notes**

  * In Suna and other cities and villages in the most arid regions of the country, there are cisterns utilized to capture water during rainstorms. The cisterns are sealed with bitumen and have drains at the bottom that funnels the water to the population center’s water reclamation system. Suna boasts a hundred and fifty cisterns, the largest of which, nicknamed “The Black Hole” by villagers, has a diameter of a hundred and fifty feet, and is twenty feet deep. The cisterns are kept lidded during the dry times to avoid the drains being clogged with dust and debris; they are removed when it rains.
  * There are six greenhouses in Sunagakure. Three of them are state-run, and grow nothing but medicinal plants. The other three are privately owned. One of them grows flowers, which are sold out of the only floristry in Sunagakure, at great expense. One grows vegetables, and the last grows fruit. (Needless to say, the fruit and vegetables are prohibitively expensive too, and can rarely be afforded by anyone but the wealthiest of citizens.)



**The Five Golden Rules of the Desert**

  1. Never go into the desert alone.
  2. Never go into the desert without enough water to last you to your destination.
    1. In addition, if you come upon a well or an oasis, take the opportunity to refill any empty water containers.
  3. Never go out into the desert during a sandstorm.
    1. If you are already in the desert when a sandstorm hits, take cover, and stay exactly where you are until it’s over.
  4. Don’t antagonize the Bedouins. They may be peaceable, but they can still kill you if they want to.
  5. Unless the situation is dire, do not travel during midday. Restrict your travels to nighttime, dawn and dusk.



**The Ten Golden Rules of the Sunagakure Puppetry Corps**

  1. Rule #1: Do not go into battle using puppets unless you have the stamina and the concentration required to form solid chakra threads.
  2. Rule #2: Never take a damaged puppet into battle.
  3. Rule #3: Be mindful of your comrades. They are the ones who will defend you from attackers; it serves you well to keep them alive.
  4. Rule #4: The desert never gives back what it takes, and neither should you.
  5. Rule #5: Do not alter your body with puppet-like modifications. Living flesh is by far the most efficient medium for the channeling of chakra threads.
    1. If you have lost a limb or any other body part, however, by all means replace it with a puppetry limb, and fit it with as many battle modifications as you are comfortable with.
  6. Rule #6: Never attempt to manipulate more puppets at one time than what your skills currently allow you to comfortably do. _In simple terms, don’t bite off more than you can chew._
  7. Rule #7: If you are going to utilize poison, make sure it is a poison you already have immunity to.
  8. Rule #8: Unless the situation is dire, never enter battle with your puppets unless you have another shinobi to stand sentry and guard you against attack.
  9. Rule #9: Do not fight half-heartedly. If you came into the battle to kill, then kill. Otherwise, you will be defeated.
  10. Rule #10: Do not go into battle until you have taken stock of the situation. Do not enter battle unless you are confident of victory.



**The Four Sects of the Sunagakure Puppetry Corps**

  * Murasaki (Purple): Attack
  * Aka (Red): Defense
  * Ki (Yellow): Reconnaissance and Intelligence Gathering
  * Aoi (Blue): Research and Development



**Some Notes on Summoning in Sunagakure**

  * Summoning tags in Sunagakure are strips of rice paper imbued with chakra by the manufacturer. Each tag has at least one mate. Those who intend to use them write upon the tags with “summoning ink.”
  * When summoning simple objects, such as kunai or shuriken, put summoning tags on the objects. The summoning works better when the one planning to summon the objects is the one who writes on the summoning tag and attaches it to the object. Bring matching summoning tags with you, and activate them when you want the objects.
  * When summoning simple objects through a medium (such as a war fan), attach a summoning tag to the object, and a matching tag to the medium.
  * Only the summoning of animate objects (such as summon animals) requires blood.



**Kaze no Kuni Holidays and Festivals**

**New Years’ Day** —January 1. A public holiday. All shinobi and federal employees have the day off; many civilian workers don’t go into work either. Most of them spend it sleeping off their hangovers or spending time with their families.  
 **Makar Sankranti** —January 14-18. A major Hindu festival, a festival that was believed to herald the arrival of spring in Hindu immigrants’ original home. This is a public holiday among Hindu immigrants.

  * On the first day of the festival, people discard old and derelict things to symbolize the sacrifice of old habits and vices, and attachment to material things. Brother will give gifts to their married sisters; landlords give gifts of food, clothes and money to their tenants; sweets are made and given out in mass quantities.
  * The second day is the main day of the festival. People exchange multi-colored halva. Married women wear black on this day (black being a color that retains warmth, and Maka Sankranti being a festival that falls at the peak of the “winter season”) and go to parties where they are given gifts of utensils and clothes. Colorful kites are flown on this day. Some people organize cock fights. Homage is paid to Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge.
  * On the last two days, the animal kingdom is remembered. Young girls feed animals as a symbol of sharing. Travel is considered inappropriate, since this is a family holiday.



**Jashan of Bahman** —January 16. A Zoroastrian name-day feast, celebrating animal creation. Not a public holiday.  
 **Vasant Panchami** —January 20. A spring-themed festival, held in honor of Saraswati, goddess of knowledge, music, art and culture; the day is considered her birthday. The holiday is kept with feasting in the temples, while children fly kites. This is not a public holiday.  
 **Sadeh** —January 31/February 1 (Falls on the latter date during a leap year). A Zoroastrian “midwinter” festival. A bonfire is lit near a temple and kept burning all through the night. It was originally a more religious holiday, meant to ward off the demons of “frost and cold”, but nowadays it’s just a friendly social gathering. Not a public holiday.  
 **Jashan of Spendarmad** —February 18. A Zoroastrian name-day feast, celebrating the earth. Not a public holiday.  
 **Holi** —March 1. A spring festival commemorating the slaying of the demoness Holika by Vishnu’s devotee Prahlad. Bonfires are lit. Colored water and powder is thrown on the celebrators (Though this happens only in Saumdhaara and, to a lesser extent, in Mynassaf, since this is not allowed in Sunagakure). Not a public holiday.  
 **Maha Shivaratri** —March 10. The night is considered sacred to Shiva; the festival is kept by all-day fasting and an all-night vigil. Not a public holiday.  
 **Vernal Equinox** —March 20. Not a public holiday.  
 **Nowruz** —March 21. The Zoroastrian New Year. A public holiday. All shinobi and federal employees have the day off. The holiday is celebrated not only by Zoroastrians, but by everyone. The holiday is celebrated with bonfires and parties. The day before this day is considered a “Spring Cleaning” day. Baklava and rose sherbet is made and eaten in great quantities for this holiday.  
 **Gudhi Padwa** —March 23. The Hindu New Year. It is celebrated by spring cleaning, eating lemons, wearing new clothes and with family get-togethers. A public holiday. All shinobi and federal employees have the day off.  
 **Palm Sunday** —The Sunday before Easter. Observed only by Christians. Not a public holiday.  
 **Good Friday** —The Friday before Easter. A Christian holiday observing the crucifixion of their savior, Jesus Christ. Observed only by Christians. Not a public holiday.  
 **Easter** —The first Sunday after the full moon following the March equinox. A Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of their savior, Jesus Christ. Observed only by Christians. Not a public holiday.  
 **Khordad Sal** —March 26. A Zoroastrian holiday, celebrating the birth of Zoroaster. The holiday is kept in grand style, with feasting and partying; it’s a family holiday. A public holiday. All shinobi and federal employees take a half-day.  
 **Farwardigan** —April 8. A Zoroastrian name-day feast, in celebration of the Fravashis. Not a public holiday.  
 **Jashan of Ardavisht** —April 22. A Zoroastrian name-day feast, celebrating fire and all other luminaries. This is not a public holiday.  
 **Jashan of Hordad** —May 25. A Zoroastrian name-day feast, celebrating the waters. Not a public holiday.  
 **Summer Solstice** —June 21. The celebration of the longest day of the year. Not a public holiday.  
 **Tiregan** —July 1. A Zoroastrian name-day feast, in celebration of Tishtrya, the rains. Not a public holiday.  
 **Jashan of Amurdad** —July 25. A Zoroastrian name-day feast, celebrating plants. Not a public holiday.  
 **Jashan of Shahrevar** —August 21. A Zoroastrian name-day feast, celebrating metals and minerals. Not a public holiday.  
 **Autumnal Equinox** —September 22. Not a public holiday.  
 **Mehregan** —October 2. A Zoroastrian name-day feast, in celebration of Mithra. Not a public holiday.  
 **Navratri** —October 16-24. A nine-night Hindu long festival of worship and dance, celebrating the nine forms of Shakti. Not a public holiday.  
 **Vijayadashami** —October 25. A Hindu celebration of good over evil, celebrated with small parties during which gifts and sweets are exchanged. Not a public holiday.  
 **Abanagan** —October 26. A Zoroastrian name-day feast, in celebration of Apas, the waters. Not a public holiday.  
 **Deepavali** —November 3-7. A “festival of lights”. Small clay lamps are lit with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. The lamps are kept on throughout the nights, and celebrants clean their houses—both of these things are done to make Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, prosperity and fortune to feel welcome. Firecrackers are burst, in the belief that this will drive away evil spirits. During the festival, all celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family and friends. The first and last days are public holidays; the other three are not.  
 **Bhau-beej** —November 7. Taking place during Deepavali, on this day, sisters pray for their brother’s health, and brothers give gifts to their sisters. Sisters feed their brothers on this day, both to signify a brother’s duty to protect his sister, and a sister’s blessings for her brother. A public holiday.  
 **Adanagan** —November 24. A Zoroastrian name-day feast, in celebration of Atar, fire. Not a public holiday.  
 **Winter Solstice/Yalda** —December 21. This is not a public holiday. It is considered an auspicious night; people traditionally try to stay awake as long as they can through the night. It’s primarily a Zoroastrian holiday. It may be celebrated with indoor or street parties. It is believed that garlic on this night will protect against pain in the joints; it’s also believed that those who eat carrots, pears, pomegranates and green olives will be protected against the bites or stings of insects and scorpions. Pomegranates and pomegranate wine are consumed in great amounts on this night.  
 **Christmas** —December 25. A Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Observed only by Christians. Not a public holiday.  
 **Zartosht No-Diso** —December 26. A Zoroastrian holiday, mourning the death of Zoroaster. Attendance at the temples is very high on this day. Not a public holiday.  
 **New Years’ Eve** —December 31. A public holiday. All shinobi and federal employees have the day off; many civilians don’t go into work either. It is celebrated with fireworks, parties and a great deal of drunkenness. People stay awake until midnight or later to celebrate the new year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1: The total population of Kaze no Kuni is a figure that is actually somewhat up in the air. The population size of the nomadic Bedouin population of Kaze no Kuni is, according to the government census, 12,000. However, other censi put the figure at being anywhere from 15,000 to 20,000 to 25,000.


	4. Kaze no Kuni Cuisine

** Kaze no Kuni Cuisine  
**

**Staples**

  * Barley
  * Egg noodles
  * Goat
  * Lentils
  * Mutton/Lamb
  * Rice
  * Wheat



**Common Fruits and Vegetables**

  * Apricot
  * Artichokes
  * Beets
  * Carrots
  * Dates
  * Eggplant
  * Figs
  * Grapes
  * Leeks
  * Lemon
  * Lime
  * Okra
  * Olives
  * Onions
  * Peppers
  * Pomegranate
  * Potato
  * Squash
  * Tomato
  * Turnips



**Common Meat Sources**

  * Chicken
  * Freshwater fish
  * Goat
  * Lizard
  * Mutton/Lamb
  * Pigeon
  * Saltwater fish (in the coastal regions)
  * Scorpion
  * Shellfish (in the coastal regions)
  * Snake



**Common Nuts/Legumes/Seeds**

  * Almonds
  * Chickpeas/Garbanzo beans
  * Coffee bean
  * Fava beans
  * Lentils
  * Pistachios
  * Poppy seeds
  * Sesame Seeds
  * Walnuts



**Common Spices**

  * Black Pepper
  * Chili
  * Cinnamon
  * Cloves
  * Coriander
  * Cumin
  * Dill
  * Fennel
  * Garlic
  * Ginger
  * Mint
  * Parsley
  * Pepper
  * Saffron
  * Salt
  * Sumac
  * Thyme



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Native to the Region**

  * Abgusht—a mutton stew thickened with chickpeas; usually made with lamb, chickpeas, onions, potatoes and tomatoes, and dried lime.
  * Akkawi cheese—a white brine cheese, made from goat’s or sheep’s milk. It is a soft cheese with a smooth texture and a mild salty taste. It is typically served either by itself or with fruit.
  * Arak—a highly alcoholic drink; it is clear, colorless, and flavored with anise.
  * Asida—a cooked wheat flour lump of dough, served with butter or honey.
  * Ayran—cold yogurt beverage mixed with cold water and sometimes with salt.
  * Baba Ghanoush—a dish of eggplant mashed and mixed with virgin olive oil and various spices.
  * Baklava—a rich, sweet pastry, made of layers of phyllo dough filled with chopped nuts (typically walnuts or pistachios) and sweetened with syrup or honey. It is served cold, at room temperature or re-warmed.
  * Baladi cheese—a soft, white cheese with a mild yet rich flavor.
  * Basbousa—a dessert; a sweet cake made of semolina and soaked in syrup. Often served with pistachios or almonds.
  * Batata harra—a vegetable dish consisting of potatoes, red peppers, coriander, chili and garlic, fried together in olive oil.
  * Bichak—a stuffed baked tri-cornered appetizer served during tea or coffee hour. It can be filled with jam for a sweet taste, or meat and cheese for a savory taste.
  * Borek—a fried phyllo pastry that can be stuffed with cheese (usually feta), minced meat or vegetables.
  * Boukha—a distilled beverage produced from figs.
  * Briouat—a sweet puff pastry, filled with chicken or lamb mixed with cheese, lemon and pepper. They are wrapped in warqa (a paper-thin dough) in a triangular or cylinder shape, and are then fried or baked, sprinkled with herbs, spices, and sometimes with powdered sugar.
  * Calamari—fried squid; served in the coastal areas
  * Chal—fermented camel milk, sparkling white with a sour flavor.
  * Coffee
  * Couscous—a dish of semolina, cooked by steaming.
  * Dolma—grape leaves stuffed with vegetables such as tomatoes, onions or eggplant.
  * Falafel—a deep-fried ball made from chickpeas, fava beans, or both.
  * Fatayer—a meat pie pastry.
  * Fesenjan—a thick, tart stew made from pomegranate juice and ground walnuts, meat (chicken, lamb, or fish), and is served with rice.
  * Feta—a brined curd cheese, crumbly, aged, with a salty, mildly sour taste.
  * Gheimeh—a stew consisting of cubed lamb, crushed chickpeas, tomatoes, onion, and dried lime. It is garnished with eggplant and served with rice.
  * Gyro—strips of lamb (or less commonly, chicken), tomatoes, onion and tzatziki in a thick pita wrap. May occasionally have potato in the wrap as well.
  * Halloumi—a semi-hard, unripened brined cheese made from a mixture of goat and sheep’s milk; can be easily fried or grilled.
  * Halva—a nougat of sesame with almonds.
  * Harira—a soup often eaten as a starter or a light snack. It is made of flour, tomatoes and tomato concentrate, lentils, chickpeas, onions, rice, beaten eggs, herbs (such as parsley and coriander), spices (such as saffron, ginger and pepper), a small amount of meat such as lamb or chicken, and a spoon or two of olive oil.
  * Harissa—a meal of boiled, cracked or coarsely-ground wheat and chicken. Its consistency ranges between a porridge and a dumpling.
  * Hummus—a cold or warm dip made of cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic.
  * Jameed—hard, dry yogurt made from goat milk fashioned into balls; salt is added to thicken it even further.
  * Kanafeh—a cheese pastry soaked in sweet syrup
  * Kebabs—a wide variety of skewered meat; analogous to yakitori
  * Kesme—a noodle dish; egg noodles are boiled in a broth containing ingredients such as potatoes, meat, carrots, peppers and tomatoes.
  * Kibbeh nayyeh—a dish consisting of minced raw lamb mixed with fine bulgur and spices. It’s often served with mint leaves and olive oil, green peppers and scallions. Sometimes a sauce of garlic or olive oil is served.
  * Kofta—balls of minced or ground goat/lamb meat, mixed with spices.
  * Kousa Mahshi—also known as stuffed marrows; squash stuffed with rice and meat; may be flavored with mint or garlic.
  * Labeneh—strained yogurt
  * Lahmacun—a round, thin piece of dough topped with minced meat (usually lamb) and minced vegetables and herbs including onions, tomatoes and parsley. It’s often served sprinkled with lemon juice.
  * Lahoh—a spongy, pancake-like bread
  * Lentil Soup
  * Ma’amoul—small shortbread pastries filled with dates, pistachios, almonds or figs in the shape of balls.
  * Mahyawa—a tangy sauce made out of fish.
  * Makdous—oil-cured eggplants stuffed with walnuts, red pepper, garlic, olive oil and salt.
  * Manakish—dough topped with thyme, cheese or ground meat; it can be sliced or folded, and is eaten for breakfast and lunch.
  * Mansaf—a dish made of lamb cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yogurt and served with rice.
  * Matbucha—a cooked dish of tomatoes and bell peppers seasoned with garlic and chili peppers. It’s served as an appetizer.
  * Meghli—a dessert based on a floured rice pudding and spiced with anise, caraway and cinnamon. Often garnished with nuts such as almonds, pistachios and walnuts. It is often served to celebrate the birth of a child.
  * Merguez—a red, spicy mutton sausage, heavily spiced with chili peppers, and other spices such as sumac, fennel and garlic. It’s usually eaten grilled or with couscous.
  * Moussaka—a layered dish; ground meat and eggplant or potato casserole, topped with a savory custard browned in the oven
  * Mujadarra—cooked lentils served with rice and sautéed onions
  * Murtabak—a stuffed pancake or pan-fried bread; typically stuffed with mutton, along with garlic, egg and onion, and is eaten with curry gravy, sliced cucumber, onions and tomato sauce.
  * Pastilla—a meat pie, stuffed with shredded chicken. It is made of a combination of thin layers of crepe-like warqa dough, savory shredded meat slow-cooked in broth and spices, and a crunchy layer of toasted and ground almonds, cinnamon and sugar.
  * Phyllo dough—paper-thin sheets of unleavened flour dough often used for making pastries.
  * Pita bread—a slightly-leavened, flat, wheat, round pocket bread
  * Qotab—a deep-fried, almond-filled cake, prepared with flour, almonds, powdered sugar and vegetable oil.
  * Quzi—a rice based dish, served with slow-cooked lamb and roasted nuts
  * Sangak—a plain, rectangular, or triangular whole wheat sourdough flatbread. May be topped with poppy seeds or sesame seeds, but is often served plain.
  * Sfenj—a doughnut cooked in oil. It’s sprinkled with sugar or soaked in honey.
  * Shakshouka—a dish of poached eggs in a tomato, chili pepper and onion sauce; served with cumin; more of a winter dish.
  * Sharbat—a sweet drink that is prepared from fruit or flower petals. It is served chilled.
  * Shawarma—meat preparation; one meat or various meats are placed on a spit, and may be grilled for as long as a whole day.
  * Tabbouleh—a salad made of couscous, tomatoes, parsley, mint, onion and garlic, and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice and salt.
  * Taboon bread—a flatbread wrap; it is served as a street food, stuffed with hummus, falafel or shaved meat.
  * Tahini—a paste made from ground, hulled sesame seeds. Can be served on its own or serve as a component of hummus, baba ghanoush and halva.
  * Tea
  * Tharid—piece of bread in vegetable or meat broth.
  * Tzatziki—a thick sauce or dip, made of strained yogurt, mixed with cucumbers, garlic, salt, olive oil, and sometimes lemon juice, dill, mint or parsley. It is always served cold.
  * Warqa dough—a paper-thin dough, thinner than phyllo dough.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages of the Hindu Immigrants**

  * Basundi—a dessert made by boiling milk on low heat until the milk is reduced by half; heavy cream may be added to hasten the thickening process. Once reduced, sugar, cardamom and saffron is added. It is garnished with almond and pistachio slices.
  * Bonda—a savory snack, made by deep-frying potato fillings, dipped in gram flour batter.
  * Chakna—a spicy stew made out of goat tripe and other animal digestive parts, such as liver and kidney.
  * Chapati—a thin, unleavened flat bread.
  * Chass—buttermilk. It is made from the reside liquid leftover after making butter, but can also be made using yogurt or curd. Water, salt, cumin and sometimes sugar are added for taste. Sometimes rose flavor is added as well.
  * Curry
  * Dalithoy—a yellow lentil soup.
  * Dosa—a fermented crepe made from rice batter and black lentils. Often eaten with breakfast or as a street food.
  * Gajar ka halwa—a sweet dessert pudding, served hot or cold, made by placing grated carrot in a jar containing a specific amount of water, milk and sugar, and then cooked, stirring regularly. It’s often served with a garnish of almonds and pistachios, which are sautéed in clarified butter.
  * Gulab jamun—a cheese-based dessert. It’s mainly made from milk solids, traditionally from freshly curded milk. The solids are kneaded into a dough, and then shaped into small balls and deep fried at a temperature of 148°C. The balls are then soaked in a light sugar syrup flavored with green cardamom and rosewater, kewra or saffron. It can be served hot, cold or at room temperature.
  * Idli—a savory cake made by steaming a (2 to 3 inch diameter) batter consisting of fermented lentils and rice. Typically eaten for breakfast.
  * Kheer—a dessert; made by boiling rice with milk and sugar. Kheer is flavored with saffron, pistachios or almonds.
  * Kichadi—a dish made out of cucumber and curd in raw or cooked form.
  * Mattha—a spiced buttermilk beverage. It is spiced with mint, cumin, curry leaves, salt and sugar. Mattha is typically served before or after a meal, but can be drank with a meal, and is believed to aid in digestion.
  * Neer dosa—a crepe prepared from rice batter. It can be eaten with chutney, or fish, chicken or mutton curry.
  * Parotta—a layered flatbread, prepared with maida flour, egg and oil, beaten into thin layers and later forming a round bread with many thin layers. Often served at religious festivals or feasts. Popular deep-fried.
  * Pashti—a flatbread made with rice flour, pan-fried in cooking oil. It’s usually served with chutney.
  * Puran poli—a sweet flatbread, served hot.
  * Qubani ka meetha—a dessert made by boiling dried apricots with syrup until they assume the consistency of a thick soup. The dessert is topped with almonds or apricot kernels. It can be garnished with either cream, custard or ice cream.
  * Sevai—rice noodles.
  * Shikanjvi—a lemonade or limeade. Ingredients are: either lemon or lime juice, ginger juice, ice and water. Other ingredients include salt, saffron and cumin.
  * Surnoli—a type of pancake, yellow in color, with holes and a puffy texture, usually about ten inches in diameter. They are eaten with breakfast or an afternoon tea, served with butter.
  * Tala huwa gosht—a simple meat preparation with lamb and onion.
  * Upma—a breakfast dish, cooked as a thick porridge from dry roasted semolina. Various seasonings and vegetables are added to the dish, depending on personal preference.
  * Uttapam—a thick pancake made of black lentil and rice, topped with tomatoes, onions and chilies, and often eaten with chutney.
  * Vada—a savory fritter-type snack. They’re usually either doughnut or disc-shaped, ranging from five to eight centimeters across, made from lentil, gram flour and potato. These three ingredients are made into a paste or dough, and subsequently seasoned with black mustard seeds, onion, curry leaves, and salt; ginger and baking soda may be added as well. The individual vadas are then shaped and deep-fried; they should not be too oily. A street food, typically served in the morning.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Hi no Kuni**

  * Botamochi—a springtime treat made with sweet rice and red bean paste; the red bean paste is packed around a ball of rice.
  * Chadango—green-tea flavored dango.
  * Chukadon—a popular fast food dish, consisting of a bowl of rice with stir-fried vegetables, onions, mushrooms, and thin slices of meat on top.
  * Curry bread—deep friend bread filled with curry sauce; can also be filled with sesame or chestnuts
  * Dango—a dumpling made from rice flour, and is often served with green tea. Dango is eaten year-round, but seasonal varieties exist.
  * Denpun dango—dango made from potato and baked with sweet boiled beans.
  * Donburi—a “rice bowl dish” consisting of fish, meat, vegetables and other ingredients simmered together and over rice.
  * Ganmodoki—fried tofu fritter made with vegetables, egg white and sesame seeds.
  * Gyoza—boiled, steamed or pan-fried dumplings, filled with pork, beef, chicken, fish, shrimp, cabbage, scallion, leek or garlic chives, or some combination of the ingredients.
  * Imoni—a thick meat and potato soup traditionally eaten in the autumn.
  * Kakigori—a shaved ice dessert flavored with syrup and condensed milk. Popular flavors include: strawberry, cherry, lemon, green tea, grape, melon, and sweet plum. Its texture is similar to fresh fallen snow.
  * Kiritanpo—freshly cooked rice is pounded until somewhat mashed, then formed into cylinders around cedar skewers, and toasted over an open hearth. It can then be served with sweet miso or used as dumplings into soups.
  * Kuri dango—dango covered in chestnut paste.
  * Kushikatsu—skewered meat, vegetables or seafood, breaded and deep-fried
  * Mitarashi dango—dango (dumplings) skewered onto sticks in groups of 3-5 and covered with a sweet soy sauce. Characterized by its glassy glaze and burnt fragrance.
  * Mochi—a rice cake made out of glutinous, waxy, sweet or mochi rice. The rice is pounded into paste and moulded into a desired shape.
  * Natto—soybeans fermented with Bacillus subtilis (A bacteria harmless to all those but the most immunocompromised). It has a powerful smell, strong flavor, and slimy texture. It’s considered an acquired taste, and is popular as a breakfast food.
  * Sake—a fermented rice wine (Though in actuality, it has more in common with beer).
  * Taiyaki—a fish-shaped cake, made of pancake batter, and filled with red bean paste, custard, cheese, chocolate, okonomiyaki, gyoza filling, or sausage (The latter three being the least common).
  * Tamagozake—a beverage consisting of heated sake, sugar, and a raw egg; often called “egg sake.”



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kawa no Kuni**

  * Acibadem kurabiyesi—a biscuit made of almonds, sugar, and egg whites, usually served with coffee or ice cream.
  * Aioli—a sauce made of garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and egg yolks. There may be an addition of mustard, pear, or both.
  * Aloo tikki—a snack made of boiled potatoes and various spices.
  * Ashure—a pudding made with grains, fruits and nuts.
  * Baati—a hard, unleavened bread common in the more arid regions of Kawa.
  * Bazlama—a single-layered, flat, circular leavened bread with a creamy yellow color.
  * Beyaz peynir—a salty, white cheese made from unpasteurized sheep milk. It has a slightly grainy appearance and is similar to feta cheese.
  * Bhakri—a round, flat, unleavened bread, with about the same hardness as a biscuit.
  * Bougatsa—a sweet breakfast pastry made of semolina custard, cheese, or minced meat filling between layers of phyllo.
  * Galaktoboureko—a dessert of semolina-based custard in phyllo dough.
  * Giouvetsi—a lamb or chicken dish. Other ingredients include pasta, onions/shallots, garlic, beef stock and red wine.
  * Halloumi—a semi-hard, unripened brined cheese made from a mixture of goat and sheep’s milk; can be easily fried or grilled.
  * Handia—rice beer.
  * Hellimli—a savory pastry made with Halloumi cheese.
  * Sarma—a savory dish of grape, cabbage or chard leaves rolled around a filling of minced meat.
  * Simit—a circular bread twist topped with sesame seeds.
  * Tarator—a cold soup (or liquid salad) popular in the summer. It’s made of yogurt, cucumber, garlic, walnut, dill, vegetable oil and water.
  * Tiropita—a layered pastry food, made with layers of buttered phyllo and filled with a cheese-egg mixture. Regular fillings include: feta cheese, egg, butter and yogurt. It’s usually eaten mid-morning.
  * Tsamarella—meat, usually goat, that is salted and cured for preservation.
  * Tsoureki—a sweet, egg-enriched bread formed in braided strands of dough.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Ame no Kuni**

  * Aloo gosht—a meat curry, consisting of potatoes cooked with lamb or mutton, in a stew-like gravy. The dish is served and eaten with rice or bread such as roti, paratha and naan.
  * Cakcak—a sweet made from unleavened dough cut and rolled into a hazelnut-sized ball, which is then deep-fried in oil. Hazelnuts or dried fruit may be added to the mixture. The balls are stacked in a mound and drenched with hot honey. They are then left to cool and dry.
  * Chalap—a beverage consisting of yogurt, salt and carbonated water.
  * Chiburekki—a fried turnover with a filling of ground or minced meat and onions.
  * Falooda—a cold, sweet beverage. It is made by mixing rose syrup with basil seeds, jelly pieces and tapioca pearls with either milk, water or ice cream.
  * Gulab jamun—a dessert. A dough consisting mainly of milk solids is rolled into a ball together with flour and is then deep fried, but at a low temperature (around 148°C). It is then put in a sugar syrup flavored with cardamom seeds and rosewater, kewra or saffron.
  * Kabuli pulao—a steamed rice dish mixed with lentils, carrots, raisins and lamb.
  * Kadchgall—a hard cylindrical cheese made of sheep milk; it is generally sweet and a little salty.
  * Lavash—a soft, thin flatbread typically used as plating for meat or stew.



**Special Notes**

  * The real life inspiration for the native Kaze no Kuni cuisine is the cuisine of the Levant and the Middle East, with some Greek and Moroccan influences.
  * The real life inspiration for the cuisine of Hindu immigrants comes from the cuisine of south India.
  * Grains can typically only be grown in the more mountainous regions of the country.
  * Fruits and vegetables can only be grown in greenhouses, in the mountains regions of Kaze no Kuni, and in small plots in the coastal regions. Those who don’t live in these regions or can’t afford greenhouse-grown fruits and vegetables don’t enjoy a particularly fruit- or vegetable-rich diet. What fruits or vegetables they do consume tend to be cured or dried.
  * Kaze is the major nation in which Hi no Kuni’s cuisine has the most influence.
  * Islam is a religious minority in Kaze no Kuni, follow a religion derived from Islam. Though Islam is not terribly recognizable as the religion it is in the real world today, some of the old dietary restrictions are still in place. No pork products, alcoholic beverages, or anything with blood in it, are consumed by Muslims. Many of the butcher shops in Sunagakure and other cities in the country produce meat that is halal for Muslims to consume.
  * Hindus, another religious minority group in Kaze no Kuni, also follow certain dietary prohibitions, and do not consume beef. This isn’t usually an issue, as cows are not a herd animal commonly found in Kaze no Kuni, but can present issues when a Hindu citizen is traveling outside of the country. In addition, Hindus of certain sects do not consume meat at all.
  * Zoroastrians and Christians, the religious majority and another religious minority group, respectively, are not restricted by any dietary prohibitions.




	5. Kawa no Kuni Cuisine

** Kawa no Kuni Cuisine   
**

**Staples**

  * Azuki beans
  * Barley
  * Chicken
  * Egg noodles
  * Goat
  * Mutton/Lamb
  * Rice
  * Wheat



**Common Fruits and Vegetables**

  * Artichoke
  * Blackberry
  * Blueberry
  * Cabbage
  * Carrot
  * Cauliflower
  * Celery
  * Citron
  * Cucumber
  * Dates
  * Eggplant
  * Grape
  * Leek
  * Lemon
  * Lime
  * Olive
  * Onion
  * Orange
  * Peach
  * Pear
  * Pepper
  * Potato
  * Spinach
  * Squash
  * Sweet potato
  * Tomato
  * Turnip



**Common Meat Sources**

  * Chicken
  * Duck
  * Freshwater fish
  * Goat
  * Goose
  * Mutton/Lamb
  * Pigeon
  * Pork
  * Saltwater fish
  * Shellfish
  * Venison



**Common Nuts/Legumes/Seeds**

  * Almond
  * Azuki bean
  * Chestnut
  * Chickpea/Garbanzo bean
  * Fava bean
  * Green bean
  * Lentil
  * Lima bean
  * Poppy seed
  * Sesame seed
  * Walnut



**Common Spices**

  * Cardamom
  * Chili
  * Cinnamon
  * Clove
  * Coriander
  * Cumin
  * Fennel
  * Garlic
  * Ginger
  * Horseradish
  * Mint
  * Mustard
  * Oregano
  * Paprika
  * Pepper
  * Saffron
  * Salt
  * Tamarind
  * Turmeric



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Native to the Region**

  * Acibadem kurabiyesi—a biscuit made of almonds, sugar, and egg whites, usually served with coffee or ice cream.
  * Afelia—pork marinated and cooked in red wine with coarsely crushed coriander seed.
  * Aioli—a sauce made of garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and egg yolks. There may be an addition of mustard, pear, or both.
  * Aloo tikki—a snack made of boiled potatoes and various spices.
  * Anari—a fresh, mild whey cheese.
  * Arros negre—a dish made of cuttlefish or squid, white rice, squid ink, garlic, green peppers, sweet paprika, olive oil, and seafood broth.
  * Ashure—a pudding made with grains, fruits and nuts.
  * Baati—a hard, unleavened bread common in the more arid regions of Kawa.
  * Bazlama—a single-layered, flat, circular leavened bread with a creamy yellow color.
  * Beyaz peynir—a salty, white cheese made from unpasteurized sheep milk. It has a slightly grainy appearance and is similar to feta cheese.
  * Bhakri—a round, flat, unleavened bread, with about the same hardness as a biscuit.
  * Bougatsa—a sweet breakfast pastry made of semolina custard, cheese, or minced meat filling between layers of phyllo.
  * Brandade—a dip made of salt cod and olive oil, eaten in winter with bread or potatoes.
  * Cezerye—a confection made from caramelized carrots, packed with nuts or pistachios. It’s cut into roughly 1” X 1.5” rectangular chips and served on special occasions.
  * Chechil—a brined string cheese.
  * Dakos—a slice of soaked dried bread topped with chopped tomatoes and crumbled feta or mizithra cheese, olives and flavored with herbs such as dried oregano.
  * Daktyla—a leavened bread with a segmented shape resembling fingers or bread.
  * Escudella i carn d’olla—a stew, made with a large meatball spiced with garlic and parsley; it also contains celery, carrots, cabbage, and so on, depending on the season.
  * Esqueixada—a salad consisting of desalted and torn dried and salted cod mixed with vegetables such as tomatoes, onions and sometimes pepper. The tomatoes may be finely chopped or grated. It is topped with olive oils. Olives are usually added, along with hard-boiled eggs. This is a summer dish.
  * Fasolada—a bean soup made of dry white beans, tomatoes, carrots, celery, and olive oil.
  * Feta—a brined curd cheese, crumbly, aged, with a salty, mildly sour taste.
  * Fuet—a thin, cured, dry pork sausage in a pork gut casing.
  * Gajar ka halwa—a sweet dessert pudding. It is made by placing grated carrot in a jar containing water, milk and sugar, and then cooked, stirring regularly. It is often served with almonds. The nuts and other items used are first sautéed in clarified butter.
  * Galaktoboureko—a dessert of semolina-based custard in phyllo dough.
  * Garrotxa cheese—a pressed cheese made from unpasteurized goat’s milk.
  * Giouvetsi—a lamb or chicken dish. Other ingredients include pasta, onions/shallots, garlic, beef stock and red wine.
  * Halloumi—a semi-hard, unripened brined cheese made from a mixture of goat and sheep’s milk; can be easily fried or grilled.
  * Handia—rice beer.
  * Hellimli—a savory pastry made with Halloumi cheese.
  * Hummus—a cold dip made of cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic.
  * Kefalotyri—a hard, salty yellow cheese made from sheep or goat’s milk.
  * Kitron—a lemon liquor made from the fruit and leaves of the citron tree.
  * Kofta—fried meatballs (made of ground or minced lamb) mixed with spices and/or onions, and topped with oregano and mint.
  * Kokoretsi—a dish consisting mainly of goat or lamb intestines, often wrapping seasoned offal, including sweetbreads, hearts, lungs or kidneys. The intestines of suckling lambs are preferred. They are seasoned with lemon, oregano, olive oil, salt and pepper. The meat is then skewered.
  * Lapa—a kind of rice gruel made of rice, water and salt, which has the consistency of a thick soup. It’s eaten with lemon juice as a cure for diarrhea.
  * Leblebi—a snack food made of roasted chickpeas, roasted with salt, hot spices or dried cloves.
  * Loukaniko—a pork sausage flavored with orange peel, fennel seed, and various other dried herbs and spices, and sometimes smoked over aromatic woods.
  * Loukomades—a fried-dough pastry made of deep-fried dough soaked in sugar syrup or honey and cinnamon, and sometimes sprinkled with sesame.
  * Manouri—a semi-soft, white whey cheese made from goat or sheep milk.
  * Mato—a fresh cheese made from cow or goat milk, with no salt added. It is usually served with honey, as a dessert.
  * Menemen—a dish which includes egg, onion, tomato and green peppers, and spices such as ground black pepper, ground red pepper, salt, oregano and mint. Black or green olives can also be an ingredient. Sausage or cured beef can be added. The eggs are scrambled. It is cooked with olive or sunflower oil.
  * Mizithra—an unpasteurized fresh cheese made with milk and whey from sheep or goats. It is white, soft, creamy and moist, and should have an acidic, sour flavor.
  * Nokul—a type of pastry eaten as an appetizer in place of bread; it consists of a rolled sheet of yeast dough onto which a feta, walnut, or poppy seed is sprinkled over a thin coat of butter. The dough is then rolled, cut into individual peaces, and baked.
  * Pa amb tomaquet—bread, sometimes toasted, rubbed over with tomato and seasoned with olive oil and salt. Sometimes garlic is added to the bread before the tomato.
  * Panipuri—a street food; a round, hollow puri is filled with a mixture of water, tamarind, chili, potato, onion, and chickpeas.
  * Pilaf—a dish in which rice is cooked in a seasoned broth. The rice may attain its brown color by being stirred with bits of cooked onion, as well as a large mix of other spices. It may or may not contain a mixture of meat and vegetables as well.
  * Pita bread—a slightly-leavened, flat, wheat, round pocket bread
  * Pottage—a thick soup or stew made by brewing grains and vegetables, and, when available, meat or fish.
  * Puri—an unleavened bread, often served as a breakfast food, a snack, street food, or as a light meal.
  * Sarma—a savory dish of grape, cabbage or chard leaves rolled around a filling of minced meat.
  * Simit—a circular bread twist topped with sesame seeds.
  * Souvlaki—(plural: souvlakia) small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer. The meat is usually pork.
  * Tarator—a cold soup (or liquid salad) popular in the summer. It’s made of yogurt, cucumber, garlic, walnut, dill, vegetable oil and water.
  * Tiropita—a layered pastry food, made with layers of buttered phyllo and filled with a cheese-egg mixture. Regular fillings include: feta cheese, egg, butter and yogurt. It’s usually eaten mid-morning.
  * Tsamarella—meat, usually goat, that is salted and cured for preservation.
  * Tsoureki—a sweet, egg-enriched bread formed in braided strands of dough.
  * Tzatziki—a thick sauce or dip, made of strained yogurt, mixed with cucumbers, garlic, salt, olive oil, and sometimes lemon juice, dill, mint or parsley. It is always served cold.
  * Zivania—an alcoholic beverage made from a mixture of grape pomace and dry wine.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kaze no Kuni**

  * Abgusht—a mutton stew thickened with chickpeas; usually made with lamb, chickpeas, onions, potatoes and tomatoes, and dried lime.
  * Akkawi cheese—a white brine cheese, made from goat’s or sheep’s milk. It is a soft cheese with a smooth texture and a mild salty taste. It is typically served either by itself or with fruit.
  * Arak—a highly alcoholic drink; it is clear, colorless, and flavored with anise.
  * Asida—a cooked wheat flour lump of dough, served with butter or honey.
  * Ayran—cold yogurt beverage mixed with cold water and sometimes with salt.
  * Baba Ghanoush—a dish of eggplant mashed and mixed with virgin olive oil and various spices.
  * Baklava—a rich, sweet pastry, made of layers of phyllo dough filled with chopped nuts (typically walnuts or pistachios) and sweetened with syrup or honey. It is served cold, at room temperature or re-warmed.
  * Batata harra—a vegetable dish consisting of potatoes, red peppers, coriander, chili and garlic, fried together in olive oil.
  * Borek—a fried phyllo pastry that can be stuffed with cheese (usually feta), minced meat or vegetables.
  * Briouat—a sweet puff pastry, filled with chicken or lamp mixed with cheese, lemon and pepper. They are wrapped in warqa (a paper-thin dough) in a triangular or cylinder shape, and are then fried or baked, sprinkled with herbs, spices, and sometimes with powdered sugar.
  * Couscous—a dish of semolina, cooked by steaming.
  * Dolma—grape leaves stuffed with vegetables such as tomatoes, onions or eggplant.
  * Falafel—a deep-fried ball made from chickpeas, fava beans, or both.
  * Fatayer—a meat pie pastry.
  * Gheimeh—a stew consisting of cubed lamb, crushed chickpeas, tomatoes, onion, and dried lime. It is garnished with eggplant and served with rice.
  * Gyro—strips of lamb (or less commonly, chicken), tomatoes, onion and tzatziki in a thick pita wrap. May occasionally have potato in the wrap as well.
  * Halva—a nougat of sesame with almonds.
  * Kebabs—a wide variety of skewered meat; analogous to yakitori
  * Kesme—a noodle dish; egg noodles are boiled in a broth containing ingredients such as potatoes, meat, carrots, peppers and tomatoes.
  * Labeneh—strained yogurt
  * Lahmacun—a round, thin piece of dough topped with minced meat (usually lamb) and minced vegetables and herbs including onions, tomatoes and parsley. It’s often served sprinkled with lemon juice.
  * Mansaf—a dish made of lamb cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yogurt and served with rice.
  * Matbucha—a cooked dish of tomatoes and bell peppers seasoned with garlic and chili peppers. It’s served as an appetizer.
  * Merguez—a red, spicy mutton sausage, heavily spiced with chili peppers, and other spices such as sumac, fennel and garlic. It’s usually eaten grilled or with couscous.
  * Moussaka—a layered dish; ground meat and eggplant or potato casserole, topped with a savory custard browned in the oven
  * Mujadarra—cooked lentils served with rice and sautéed onions
  * Murtabak—a stuffed pancake or pan-fried bread; typically stuffed with mutton, along with garlic, egg and onion, and is eaten with curry gravy, sliced cucumber, onions and tomato sauce.
  * Phyllo dough—paper-thin sheets of unleavened flour dough often used for making pastries.
  * Qotab—a deep-fried, almond-filled cake, prepared with flour, almonds, powdered sugar and vegetable oil.
  * Quzi—a rice based dish, served with slow-cooked lamb and roasted nuts
  * Sangak—a plain, rectangular, or triangular whole wheat sourdough flatbread. May be topped with poppy seeds or sesame seeds, but is often served plain.
  * Tabbouleh—a salad made of couscous, tomatoes, parsley, mint, onion and garlic, and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice and salt.
  * Taboon bread—a flatbread wrap; it is served as a street food, stuffed with hummus, falafel or shaved meat.
  * Tahini—a paste made from ground, hulled sesame seeds. Can be served on its own or serve as a component of hummus, baba ghanoush and halva.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Hi no Kuni**

  * Akashiyaki—small, round dumplings made of an egg-rich batter and octopus dipped into dashi (a thin fish broth) before eating.
  * Anmitsu—a dessert made of small cubes of agar jelly; served in a bowl with red bean paste boiled peas, and a variety of fruit; usually comes with a small pot of sweet black syrup, which one pours on the jelly before eating.
  * Anpan—sweet roll filled with red bean paste
  * Botamochi—a springtime treat made with sweet rice and red bean paste; the red bean paste is packed around a ball of rice.
  * Butadon—“pork bowl”; a dish consisting of a bowl of rice topped with pork simmered in a mildly sweet sauce. It’s often sprinkled with green peas.
  * Chadango—green-tea flavored dango.
  * Chawanmushi—egg custard, usually eaten as an appetizer. Consists of an egg mixture flavored with soy sauce, dashi, and mirin (rice wine; not sake), with other ingredients such as shiitake mushrooms, kamaboko (cured surimi, a fish paste), lily root and boiled shrimp. The mixture is placed into a tea-cup like container.
  * Chazuke—a dish made by pouring green tea, dashi, or hot water over cooked rice in roughly the same proportion as milk over cereal. Toppings include tsukemono (pickled vegetables), umeboshi, nori, furikake, sesame seeds, tarako (salted roe), mentaiko (salted and marinated roe), salted salmon, shiokara (pickled seafood), and wasabi.
  * Chukadon—a popular fast food dish, consisting of a bowl of rice with stir-fried vegetables, onions, mushrooms, and thin slices of meat on top.
  * Curry
  * Curry bread—deep friend bread filled with curry sauce; can also be filled with sesame or chestnuts
  * Dango—a dumpling made from rice flour, and is often served with green tea. Dango is eaten year-round, but seasonal varieties exist.
  * Denpun dango—dango made from potato and baked with sweet boiled beans.
  * Donburi—a “rice bowl dish” consisting of fish, meat, vegetables and other ingredients simmered together and over rice.
  * Gyoza—boiled, steamed or pan-fried dumplings, filled with pork, beef, chicken, fish, shrimp, cabbage, scallion, leek or garlic chives, or some combination of the ingredients.
  * Hayashi rice—beef and onions stewed in a red-wine sauce and served on rice.
  * Hiyashi chuka—a dish consisting of chilled ramen noodles with various toppings, including strips of egg, carrot, cucumber, ginger, ham, chicken, or barbecued pork. It is typically served in summer.
  * Ikameshi—a Japanese dish composed of squid cooked with rice inside. The rice is usually a blend of glutinous and non-glutinous rice. Other ingredients sometimes used as stuffing include minced squid tentacles, bamboo shoots, carrots, and aburaage (A food product made from soybeans).
  * Ikayaki—a fast food; grilled squid topped with soy sauce.
  * Katsudon—a bowl of rice topped with tonkatsu, egg and condiments.
  * Kibi dango—dango made with millet flour.
  * Kiritanpo—freshly cooked rice is pounded until somewhat mashed, then formed into cylinders around cedar skewers, and toasted over an open hearth. It can then be served with sweet miso or used as dumplings into soups.
  * Kuri dango—dango covered in chestnut paste.
  * Kushikatsu—skewered meat, vegetables or seafood, breaded and deep-fried
  * Miso soup—a soup consisting of dashi stock into which softened miso paste is mixed. Various ingredients may be added, including tofu, nori, scallions, mushrooms, potatoes, onion, shrimp, fish, and grated or sliced daikon.
  * Mitarashi dango—dango (dumplings) skewered onto sticks in groups of 3-5 and covered with a sweet soy sauce. Characterized by its glassy glaze and burnt fragrance.
  * Mochi—a rice cake made out of glutinous, waxy, sweet or mochi rice. The rice is pounded into paste and moulded into a desired shape.
  * Namasu—a dish of thinly sliced uncooked vegetables and seafood, marinated in rice vinegar for several hours, pickling them slightly.
  * Natto—soybeans fermented with Bacillus subtilis (A bacteria harmless to all those but the most immunocompromised). It has a powerful smell, strong flavor, and slimy texture. It’s considered an acquired taste, and is popular as a breakfast food.
  * Okonomiyaki—savory pancakes with various meat and vegetable ingredients
  * Sake—a fermented rice wine (Though in actuality, it has more in common with beer).
  * Sashimi—very fresh raw meat or fish sliced into thin pieces.
  * Sekihan—sticky rice steamed with azuki beans, thus giving the rice a reddish color. It is often consumed on special occasions such as birthdays and weddings.
  * Sata andagi—sweet deep fried buns of dough, similar to doughnuts
  * Soba—a type of thin noodle made from buckwheat flour, served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup.
  * Somen—thin white wheat noodles served chilled with a dipping sauce.
  * Sukiyaki—a soup or stew consisting of thinly sliced meat (usually beef), which is slowly cooked or simmered at the table, alongside vegetable and other ingredients in a shallow iron pit in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar and mirin. Before being eaten, the ingredients are usually dipped in a small bowl of raw, beaten eggs.
  * Sushi—a food consisting of vinegared rice combined with other ingredients, such as raw fish or other seafood.
  * Taiyaki—a fish-shaped cake, made of pancake batter, and filled with red bean paste, custard, cheese, chocolate, okonomiyaki, gyoza filling, or sausage (The latter three being the least common).
  * Takikomi gohan—a rice dish seasoned with dashi and soy sauce, along with mushrooms, vegetables, meat or fish.
  * Takoyaki—a ball-shaped snack made of a wheat flour-based batter, filled with octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger, and green onion. After being cooked, they are brushed with takoyaki sauce, and then sprinkled with aonori (green seaweed) and shavings of dried bonito (a type of fish).
  * Tamagozake—a beverage consisting of heated sake, sugar, and a raw egg; often called “egg sake.”
  * Tonkatsu—deep-fried breaded cutlet of pork.
  * Toriten—Tempura-style fried chicken, cut into nuggets, dipped in soy sauce, sake and garlic powder, rolled in tempura powder and then deep-fried.
  * Umeboshi—picked ume plums
  * Umeshu—a liqueur made from steeping ume in alcohol and sugar. It has a sweet, sour taste, and an alcohol content of 10-15%.
  * Unagi—grilled and flavored eel
  * Yakitori—skewered chicken.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Ame no Kuni**

  * Aloo gosht—a meat curry, consisting of potatoes cooked with lamb or mutton, in a stew-like gravy. The dish is served and eaten with rice or bread such as roti, paratha and naan.
  * Aloo paratha—a breakfast food. Paratha bread is stuffed with a spiced mixture of mashed potato, which is rolled out and cooked on a hot tawa (a disc-shaped griddle). The dish is served with butter or chutney.
  * Aushak—pasta dumplings filled with scallion and a hearty tomato sauce, topped with yogurt and dried mint. This is time-consuming to make; it is typically served on holidays.
  * Chakna—a spicy stew made of goat tripe and other animal digestive parts.
  * Chalap—a beverage consisting of yogurt, salt and carbonated water.
  * Chiburekki—a fried turnover with a filling of ground or minced meat and onions.
  * Chicken tikka—small pieces of boneless chicken baked using skewers, in a tandoor, after marinating in spices and yogurt. The chicken is brushed with clarified butter at intervals. It is typically eaten with coriander and chutney, and is served alongside onion rings and lemon.
  * Lavash—a soft, thin flatbread typically used as plating for meat or stew.
  * Manti—a meat dumpling made of one of the following ingredients: lamb, beef, potato, or pumpkin; fat is often added to meat manti. Manti are topped with butter. Since the preparation of manti is so time-consuming, it becomes an all-family activity.
  * Piti—a soup made with mutton and vegetables (tomatoes, potatoes and chickpeas), infused with saffron water to add flavor, and cooked in a sealed crock.
  * Roti—an unleavened flatbread made from stone-ground wholemeal flour.
  * Qurut—a type of cheese often eaten as a snack. It is made from drained sour milk or yogurt by forming it and letting it dry.
  * Shami kebab—a kebab composed of small patties or minced mutton or beef, ground chickpeas and spices.
  * Sher berinj—a rice pudding flavored with rosewater and chopped almonds. It is served chilled as a dessert.
  * Talkhan—a sweet made from walnuts and mulberries. It resembles chocolate, but lighter and coarser.



**Special Notes**

  * The real life inspiration for Kawa no Kuni cuisine is the cuisine of Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Catalan in Spain and (in the north) northern India.




	6. Mizu no Kuni Cuisine

**Mizu no Kuni Cuisine**

**Staples**

  * Breadfruit
  * Cassava
  * Egg noodles
  * Fish: freshwater and saltwater
  * Potatoes
  * Rice
  * Shellfish
  * Sweet potatoes
  * Wheat



**Common Fruits and Vegetables**

  * Bananas
  * Bitter Melon
  * Breadfruit
  * Cabbage
  * Cassava
  * Coconut
  * Cucumber
  * Dragonfruit
  * Durian
  * Eggplant
  * Guava
  * Jackfruit
  * Lettuce
  * Lime
  * Mango
  * Orange
  * Papaya
  * Passionfruit
  * Peppers
  * Pineapple
  * Potato/Sweet Potato
  * Spinach
  * Strawberries
  * Tomato
  * Winter Melon



**Common Meat Sources**

  * Chicken
  * Duck
  * Freshwater fish
  * Goat
  * Goose
  * Mutton/Lamb
  * Saltwater fish
  * Shellfish



**Common Nuts/Legumes/Seeds**

  * Almonds
  * Areca Nuts
  * Azuki beans
  * Candlenut
  * Cashews
  * Cocoa bean
  * Lentils
  * Macadamia Nuts
  * Peanuts
  * Pistachios
  * Sesame seeds
  * Soy beans
  * Water Chestnuts



**Common Spices**

  * Black Pepper
  * Chili
  * Cinnamon
  * Clove
  * Coriander
  * Cumin
  * Garlic
  * Ginger
  * Lemongrass
  * Mint
  * Nutmeg
  * Salt
  * Scallions
  * Tamarind
  * Turmeric



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Native to the Region**

  * Ais kacang—A shaved ice desert, ais kacang generally comes in bright colours, and with different fruit cocktails and dressings. Almost all variants contain a large serving of attap chee (palm seed), red beans, sweet corn, grass jelly and cubes of agar agar as common ingredients. Other less-common ingredients include aloe vera, cendol, nata de coco, or ice cream. A final topping of evaporated milk, condensed milk, or coconut milk is drizzled over the mountain of ice along with red rose syrup and sarsi syrup. Some stalls have even introduced novelty toppings such as durian, chocolate syrup and ice cream. There are also versions that shun the multi-coloured syrup and are served with just a drizzling of gula melaka syrup instead.
  * Asam laksa—a sour, fish-based soup made with laksa noodles; the ingredients include shredded fish (usually mackerel) and finely sliced vegetables including cucumber, onion, red chilies, pineapple, lettuce, and mint.
  * Asam pedas—A sour and spicy stew. The main ingredients (generally seafood or freshwater fish) are cooked in tamarind fruit juice with chili peper and other spices. Vegetables may be added.
  * Ayam pansuh—a dish made by cooking chicken meat in bamboo and stuffed with water, seasoning and covered by tapioca leaves.
  * Bajigur—a hot drink made from coconut milk, spices, pandan leaf and coconut sugar.
  * Bakmi goreng—fried noodles served with egg, chicken or seafood, and thinly sliced carrots.
  * Banana leaf rice—white rice served on a banana leaf with an assortment of vegetables, curried meat or fish, pickles, and/or papadum.
  * Bandrek—a hot, sweet and spicy drink made with coconut milk, ginger and coconut sugar; also flavored with cinnamon, lemongrass and coriander.
  * Bandung—a drink consisting of milk mixed with rose cordial syrup, giving it a pink color.
  * Botok—a dish made from shredded coconut flesh that’s been squeezed of its milk, often mixed with such ingredients as vegetables or fish, and wrapped in a banana leaf and steamed. Typically consumed with rice.
  * Bubur ayam—rice porridge served with soy sauce, spices, fried shallots, shredded chicken meat, and soybeans.
  * Buntil—a dish of scraped coconut meat mixed with anchovies and spices, wrapped in a papaya leaf, and then boiled in coconut milk.
  * Cendol—a dessert, consisting of smooth green noodles in chilled coconut milk and gula melaka (coconut palm sugar).
  * Chapati—a thin, unleavened flat bread.
  * Chwee kueh—a steamed rice cake, made by mixing rice flour and water together to form a slightly viscous mixture.
  * Coconut jam
  * Coconut rice—a dish made by soaking white rice in coconut milk or by cooking it with coconut flakes.
  * Coffee
  * Curry
  * Curry laksa—a coconut-based curry soup made with laksa noodles; other main ingredients include tofu, shrimp and cockles.
  * Dadih—fermented buffalo milk; prepared by pouring fresh, raw, unheated buffalo milk into a bamboo tube capped with a banana leaf, and allowing it to ferment for two days.
  * Dendeng—thinly-sliced, dried meat, similar to jerky.
  * Dodol—a toffee-like sweet, made with coconut milk, jaggery and rice flour.
  * Dosa—a fermented crepe made from rice batter black lentils. Often eaten with breakfast or as a street food.
  * Es kacang hijau—a dessert made from mung beans with coconut milk and either palm or cane sugar. The beans are boiled until soft and the sugar and coconut milk are added after that.
  * Gudeg—young jackfruit is boiled for several hours with palm sugar and coconut milk, and may be spiced with garlic, candlenut, or coriander. It is then served with white rice, chicken, hard-boiled egg, and tofu.
  * Ikan Bakar—fish grilled using charcoal, served with either chili, turmeric, or some other spice-based sauce. Squid and stingray are popular fish to use.
  * Kaya toast—a popular snack consisting of coconut jam, a spread of eggs, sugar and coconut milk, flavored with pandan, spread on toasted or fresh bread.
  * Kembang tahu—soft tofu pudding in sweet ginger and sugar syrup.
  * Kerak telor—a spicy omelet snack food made from glutinous rice cooked with egg and served with fried shredded coconut, fried shallots and dried shrimp topping.
  * Ketupat—a packed rice dumpling
  * Kheer—a dessert; made by boiling rice with milk and sugar. Kheer is flavored with saffron, cashews, pistachios or almonds.
  * Lassi—a yogurt-based drink, made by blending yogurt with water and spices. Traditional, or salted lassi, is a savory drink flavored with ground roasted cumin; sweet lassi is blended with fruit instead.
  * Lemang—a dish made of glutinous rice, coconut milk and salt, cooked in a hollowed bamboo stick lined with banana leaves to prevent the rice from sticking to the bamboo.
  * Lemper—a dish made of glutinous rice filled with chicken; the meat filling is rolled inside the rice, which in turn is rolled and wrapped inside a banana leaf.
  * Lontong—a dish made of compressed rice wrapped inside a banana leaf. The rice is then boiled and cut into small cakes.
  * Nasi dagang—a rice dish steamed in coconut milk, fish curry and other ingredients such as shaved coconut, hard-boiled eggs and vegetable pickles.
  * Nasi goreng—a meal including stir-fried rice in a small amount of cooking oil, typically spiced with sweet soy sauce, shallot, garlic, tamarind and chili, and accompanied with other ingredients, specifically egg, chicken and prawns.
  * Nasi kebuli—a spicy steamed rice dish cooked in goat broth, milk and ghee (clarified with butter).
  * Nasi kerabu—a dish in which blue-colored rice is eaten with dried fish or fried chicken, crackers, pickles, and other salads.
  * Nasi Lemak—a rice dish cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaves.
  * Opor ayam—a soup dish consisting of chicken cooked in coconut milk, often served with ketupat.
  * Palm wine
  * Paniki—a dish made of fruit bat; before being cooked, the bat is burned to remove its hair, and is then cooked in coconut milk, herbs and spices.
  * Papadum—a thin, crisp cracker.
  * Pasembur—a salad consisting of shredded cucumbers, potatoes, tofu, turnips, bean sprouts, with seafood such as prawn fritters, fried crab, and fried octopus. It’s served with a sweet and spicy nut sauce.
  * Pempek—a savory fishcake delicacy, made from fish and tapioca, and served with noodles and a dark, rich sweet and sour sauce.
  * Pineapple tart
  * Pulot tartal—a dish in which white coconut milk sauce is served with glutinous rice.
  * Puri—an unleavened, golden-brown bread.
  * Rendang—a spicy meat dish, made of meat mixed with coconut milk and a paste of various ground spices, which includes ginger, turmeric leaves, lemon grass, garlic, shallot, chilies and other spices. Often served with steamed rice, ketupat or lemang.
  * Roti Canai—flatbread; should be flat, fluffy on the inside and flaky on the outside.
  * Rousong—a dried meat product that has a light and fluffy texture similar to coarse cotton.
  * Samosa—a fried or baked pastry with a savory filling, such as spiced potatoes, onions, peas, lentils, and ground lamb or chicken.
  * Sata—a dish consisting of spiced fish wrapped in banana leaves and cooked on a grill.
  * Satay—a dish of seasoned, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sauce; similar to yakitori
  * Sayur Lodeh—a vegetable in coconut milk soup. Common ingredients include young jackfruit, eggplant, chayote, long beans, tofu and tempeh.
  * Seri Muka—a two-layered dessert with steamed glutinous rice forming the lower half and green custard made with pandan juice forming the upper half.
  * Soto—a soup mainly composed of broth, meat and vegetables.
  * Tea
  * Teh halia—ginger tea.
  * Teh tarik—a “pulled tea.” It’s sweetened using condensed milk. The tea is prepared by using outstretched hands to pour hot tea from a mug into a glass; the higher the “pull”, the thicker the froth. This also cools it down.



**Special Notes**

  * The real life inspiration for Mizu no Kuni cuisine comes from Malaysian and Indonesian cuisine.
  * Mizu is the nation in which Hi no Kuni’s cuisine has the least influence. Due to Mizu’s isolationist policies, its physical isolation and its ability, unlike the minor nations, to keep foreign influences out, there is virtually no foreign influences in its food.
  * Islam is the religious majority of Mizu no Kuni. Though Islam is not terribly recognizable as the religion it is in the real world today, some of the old dietary restrictions are still in place. No pork products, alcoholic beverages, or anything with blood in it, are consumed by Muslims. Many of the butcher shops in Kirigakure and other cities in the country produce meat that is halal for Muslims to consume.
  * Besides Muslims, there is a widespread social taboo in Mizu no Kuni against eating pork and against pigs in general; you will find no domesticated pigs on the islands, only wild ones. You will find no restaurants or food stands in Mizu no Kuni that serve pork. Not everyone adheres to this rule; however, they’ll have to import the pork, and they’ll have to eat it in the privacy of their own homes.
  * Hindus, a religious minority group in Mizu no Kuni, also follow certain dietary prohibitions, and do not consume beef. Also, Hindus of certain sects do not consume meat at all.
  * Sikhs, another religious minority group in Mizu, are forbidden from eating ritually slaughtered (halal) meat.




	7. Uzu no Kuni Cuisine

** Uzu no Kuni Cuisine   
**

**Staples**

  * Azuki beans
  * Egg noodles
  * Fish: freshwater and saltwater
  * Rice
  * Shellfish
  * Wheat



**Common Fruits and Vegetables**

  * Apples
  * Bananas
  * Cabbage
  * Carrots
  * Cassava
  * Cherries
  * Coconut
  * Cucumber
  * Eggplant
  * Grapefruit
  * Grapes
  * Guava
  * Jackfruit
  * Lemon
  * Lettuce
  * Lime
  * Mango
  * Olives
  * Onion
  * Orange
  * Papaya
  * Passionfruit
  * Peach
  * Peppers
  * Pineapple
  * Plum
  * Potatoes
  * Spinach
  * Squash
  * Strawberries
  * Sweet potatoes
  * Tar
  * Tomato
  * Ume
  * Winter melon
  * Yuzu



**Common Meat Sources**

  * Chicken
  * Duck
  * Freshwater fish
  * Goat
  * Goose
  * Mutton/Lamb
  * Pork
  * Rabbit/Hare
  * Saltwater fish
  * Shellfish



**Common Nuts/Legumes/Seeds**

  * Almonds
  * Areca nuts
  * Azuki beans
  * Candlenut
  * Cashews
  * Chestnuts
  * Hazelnuts
  * Lentils
  * Macadamia nuts
  * Pea
  * Peanuts
  * Sesame seeds
  * Soy beans
  * Walnuts
  * Water chestnuts



**Common Spices**

  * Basil
  * Chili
  * Cinnamon
  * Clove
  * Coriander
  * Cumin
  * Dill
  * Garlic
  * Ginger
  * Horseradish
  * Lemongrass
  * Mustard
  * Nutmeg
  * Parsley
  * Pepper
  * Salt
  * Scallions
  * Tamarind
  * Turmeric
  * Wasabi



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Native to the Region**

  * Acar—a type of pickling, made from vegetables such as carrots, cabbage and yardlong beans that are pickled in vinegar and dried chilies.
  * Ais kacang—A shaved ice desert, ais kacang generally comes in bright colours, and with different fruit cocktails and dressings. Almost all variants contain a large serving of attap chee (palm seed), red beans, sweet corn, grass jelly and cubes of agar agar as common ingredients. Other less-common ingredients include aloe vera, cendol, nata de coco, or ice cream. A final topping of evaporated milk, condensed milk, or coconut milk is drizzled over the mountain of ice along with red rose syrup and sarsi syrup. Some stalls have even introduced novelty toppings such as durian, chocolate syrup and ice cream. There are also versions that shun the multi-coloured syrup and are served with just a drizzling of gula melaka syrup instead.
  * Akashiyaki—small, round dumplings made of an egg-rich batter and octopus dipped into dashi (a thin fish broth) before eating.
  * Apas—oblong-shaped biscuits, topped with sugar.
  * Asam pedas—A sour and spicy stew. The main ingredients (generally seafood or freshwater fish) are cooked in tamarind fruit juice with chili pepper and other spices. Vegetables may be added.
  * Atchara—a condiment made from pickled unripe papaya. Carrot slices, ginger, bell pepper, onion and garlic are also added.
  * Ayam pansuh—a dish made by cooking chicken meat in bamboo and stuffed with water, seasoning and covered by tapioca leaves.
  * Bakpia—a bean-filled pastry; can be filled with azuki beans, or alternatively with pork.
  * Banana cue—a street food consisting of deep-fried bananas coated in caramelized brown sugar.
  * Banana leaf rice—white rice served on a banana leaf with an assortment of vegetables, curried meat or fish, pickles, and/or papadum.
  * Bandung—a drink consisting of milk mixed with rose cordial syrup, giving it a pink color.
  * Belekoy—a sweet pastry prepared with flour, sugar, sesame seeds and vanilla.
  * Biskotso—baked bread topped with butter and sugar, or garlic, in some cases.
  * Bopis—a spicy dish of pork lungs sautéed in tomatoes, chilies and onions.
  * Botamochi—a springtime treat made with sweet rice and red bean paste; the red bean paste is packed around a ball of rice.
  * Bukayo—a dessert, made from simmering strips of young, gelatinous coconut in water and then mixing with brown or white sugar. It can also be used as a garnishing for other desserts.
  * Buko pie—a baked young-coconut custard pie.
  * Butadon—“pork bowl”; a dish consisting of a bowl of rice topped with pork simmered in a mildly sweet sauce. It’s often sprinkled with green peas.
  * Butajiru—a soup made with pork and vegetables, flavored with miso.
  * Cascaron—a dessert made of rice flour, coconut and sugar.
  * Cendol—a dessert, consisting of smooth green noodles in chilled coconut milk and gula melaka (coconut palm sugar).
  * Chapati—a thin, unleavened flatbread.
  * Chawanmushi—egg custard, usually eaten as an appetizer. Consists of an egg mixture flavored with soy sauce, dashi, and mirin (rice wine; not sake), with other ingredients such as shiitake mushrooms, kamaboko (cured surimi, a fish paste), lily root and boiled shrimp. The mixture is placed into a tea-cup like container.
  * Chazuke—a dish made by pouring green tea, dashi, or hot water over cooked rice in roughly the same proportion as milk over cereal. Toppings include tsukemono (pickled vegetables), umeboshi, nori, furikake, sesame seeds, tarako (salted roe), mentaiko (salted and marinated roe), salted salmon, shiokara (pickled seafood), and wasabi.
  * Chikuwa—a tube-like food product made from ingredients such as fish surimi, salt, sugar, starch, monosodium glutamate, and egg white.
  * Chukadon—a popular fast food dish, consisting of a bowl of rice with stir-fried vegetables, onions, mushrooms, and thin slices of meat on top.
  * Chwee kueh—a steamed rice cake, made by mixing rice flour and water together to form a slightly viscous mixture.
  * Coffee
  * Cokodok—a fritter snack made with flour and banana, and is fried. It’s usually round in shape; size varies.
  * Cream stew—a stew consisting of meat, usually chicken or pork, and mixed vegetables, such as onion, carrot, potato and cabbage, cooked in thick white roux.
  * Daifuku—a confection consisting of a small round mochi stuffed with a sweet filling, usually anko (sweetened red bean paste made from azuki beans).
  * Dashi—a thin fish broth used in cooking.
  * Dobin mushi—a seafood broth, steamed and served in a dobin teapot with shrimp, chicken, soy sauce, lime, and mushroom.
  * Donburi—a “rice bowl dish” consisting of fish, meat, vegetables and other ingredients simmered together and over rice.
  * Dried shredded squid
  * Es kacang hijau—a dessert made from mung beans with coconut milk and either palm or cane sugar. The beans are boiled until soft and the sugar and coconut milk are added after that.
  * Furikake—a condiment made of a mixture of dried and ground fish, sesame seeds, chopped seaweed, sugar, salt, and monosodium glutamate.
  * Ganmodoki—a fried tofu fritter made with vegetables, egg white and sesame seeds.
  * Ginanggang—a snack food of grilled skewered bananas brushed with margarine and sprinkled with sugar.
  * Hakuto jelly—a seasonal dessert, available in the summer, made using the juice of ripe peaches and mineral-rich spring water. The texture of the jelly is very smooth and soft, similar to the texture of the fruit itself.
  * Hamonado—a dish consisting of pork cooked in pineapple juice.
  * Heong Peng—a pastry containing a sweet, sticky filling made out of malt and shallots, which is covered by a flaky baked crust and garnished with sesame seeds.
  * Ikameshi—a Japanese dish composed of squid cooked with rice inside. The rice is usually a blend of glutinous and non-glutinous rice. Other ingredients sometimes used as stuffing include minced squid tentacles, bamboo shoots, carrots, and aburaage (A food product made from soybeans).
  * Inipit—a flat pastry made of flour, milk, lard and sugar.
  * Isaw—a street food made from barbecued pig or chicken intestines.
  * Jibu-ni—a stew made from duck of chicken coated in flour, wheat gluten, vegetables and mushrooms simmered together in dashi stock.
  * Kabayaki—a preparation of the unagi eel, where the eel is split down the back (or belly), gutted and boned, butterflied, cut into square fillets, skewered, dipped in a sweet soy-sauce base before broiled in a grill.
  * Kakigori—a shaved ice dessert flavored with syrup and condensed milk. Popular flavors include: strawberry, cherry, lemon, green tea, grape, melon, and sweet plum. Its texture is similar to fresh fallen snow.
  * Kanpyo—dried shavings of calabash.
  * Karasumi—a food product made by salting mullet roe and drying it in the sunlight.
  * Lomi—a dish made with a variety of egg noodles that’s been soaked in lye water to give it more texture. Small pieces of meat (pork or chicken) and pork liver are sautéed with garlic and onions, and mixed with salt and pepper and soup stock, and then the noodles are added. While the soup is cooking, cassava flour is added to thicken the soup. Best eaten while still steaming hot.
  * Lontong—a dish made of compressed rice wrapped inside a banana leaf. The rice is then boiled and cut into small cakes.
  * Mami soup—a soup containing noodles, chicken, pork, wonton dumplings or intestines.
  * Manju—a confection, with an outside of flour, rice powder and buckwheat, and a filling of red bean paste.
  * Maruya—banana fritters sprinkled with sugar and served with slices of jackfruit preserved in syrup.
  * Menchi-katsu—a breaded and deep-fried ground pork cutlet or croquette.
  * Miso soup—a soup consisting of dashi stock into which softened miso paste is mixed. Various ingredients may be added, including tofu, nori, scallions, mushrooms, potatoes, onion, shrimp, fish, and grated or sliced daikon.
  * Misua—a very thin variety of salted noodles made from wheat flour.
  * Mochi—a rice cake made out of glutinous, waxy, sweet or mochi rice. The rice is pounded into paste and moulded into a desired shape.
  * Namasu—a dish of thinly sliced uncooked vegetables and seafood, marinated in rice vinegar for several hours, pickling them slightly.
  * Oden—a winter dish consisting of boiled eggs, daikon radish, konnyaku (a type of yam) and processed fish cakes stewed in a light, soy-flavored dashi broth.
  * Okonomiyaki—savory pancakes with various meat and vegetable ingredients
  * Onigiri—rice balls, either ball- or triangle-shaped. They may be solid rice or filled with fillings such as: tuna with mayonnaise, shrimp with mayonnaise, roasted and crumbled mackerel, tempura, cutlets, umeboshi, squid, roe, salmon, or some other filling.
  * Oyaki—a dumpling made from fermented buckwheat dough wrapped around a stuffing of vegetables, fruit or red bean paste and then roasted on an iron pan.
  * Palitaw—a small, flat, sweet rice cake. When served, the discs are dipped in grated coconut, and presented with a separate dip made of sugar and toasted sesame seeds.
  * Palm wine—a wine created from the sap of palm trees.
  * Pandesal—a bread roll made of flour, eggs, yeast, sugar and salt; a common food.
  * Pasembur—a salad consisting of shredded cucumbers, potatoes, tofu, turnips, bean sprouts, with seafood such as prawn fritters, fried crab, and fried octopus. It’s served with a sweet and spicy nut sauce.
  * Pig’s organ soup—a clear soup; the broth is boiled from a mix of pig offal (heart, liver, intestines, stomach, tongue, blood cubes), as well as pork meat slices, strips of salted vegetables, lettuce and a sprinkle of chopped onion leaves and pepper.
  * Pisang goreng—a deep-fried, battered banana served as a street food; it may be served plain, or with cheese, chocolate, condensed milk or jam.
  * Sakura cheese—a creamy white cheese flavored with mountain cherry leaves.
  * Sashimi—very fresh raw meat or fish sliced into thin pieces.
  * Sekihan—sticky rice steamed with azuki beans, thus giving the rice a reddish color. It is often consumed on special occasions such as birthdays and weddings.
  * Suman—a rice cake made from glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk. It is often eaten sprinkled with sugar.
  * Surimi—a fish-based food product that has been pulverized to a thick paste and has the property of a dense and rubbery food product when cooked.
  * Taho—a snack food made of fresh soft tofu, amibal (brown sugar and vanilla syrup), and pearl sago (similar to pearl tapioca). It’s a popular sweet, often eaten warm as a comfort food.
  * Takikomi gohan—a rice dish seasoned with dashi and soy sauce, along with mushrooms, vegetables, meat or fish.
  * Takoyaki—a ball-shaped snack made of a wheat flour-based batter, filled with octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger, and green onion. After being cooked, they are brushed with takoyaki sauce, and then sprinkled with aonori (green seaweed) and shavings of dried bonito (a type of fish).
  * Tamagozake—a beverage consisting of heated sake, sugar, and a raw egg; often called “egg sake.”
  * Tapuy—an alcoholic rice drink.
  * Tea
  * Tekkadon—a rice dish topped with thin-sliced raw tuna or salmon sashimi.
  * Tofu—bean curd; made by coagulating soy juice and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks.
  * Turon—a snack made of thinly sliced bananas and a slice of jackfruit, dusted with brown sugar, wrapped in a spring roll wrapper and fried.
  * Umeboshi—picked ume plums
  * Unadon—a bowl of white rice topped with grilled eel fillets.
  * Utap—an oval-shaped puff pastry, consisting of a combination of flour, shortening, coconut and sugar.
  * Yakimochi—grilled or broiled mochi.
  * Yakitori—skewered chicken.
  * Zoni—a soup containing mochi.



**Special Notes**

  * The real life inspiration of Uzu no Kuni cuisine comes from the cuisine of the Philippines, Japan and Malaysia.
  * After the destruction of Uzu no Kuni, its food culture was destroyed. Those who survived and took refuge in other countries did not take the food culture of their homeland with them, preferring to try to blend in as much as possible.




	8. Ame no Kuni Cuisine

**Ame no Kuni Cuisine**

**Staples**

  * Barley
  * Lentils
  * Rice
  * Rye
  * Wheat



**Common Fruits and Vegetables**

  * Apple
  * Apricot
  * Beet
  * Bitter Melon
  * Blackberry
  * Blueberry
  * Cabbage
  * Calabash
  * Carrot
  * Cassava
  * Cauliflower
  * Celery
  * Cherries
  * Cucumber
  * Eggplant
  * Fig
  * Garlic
  * Grapefruit
  * Green bean
  * Leek
  * Lemon
  * Lettuce
  * Lime
  * Mulberry
  * Olive
  * Onion
  * Orange
  * Papaya
  * Peach
  * Pear
  * Pepper
  * Persimmon
  * Plum
  * Pomegranate
  * Pomelo
  * Potato
  * Pumpkin
  * Raspberry
  * Rhubarb
  * Spinach
  * Squash
  * Strawberry
  * Sweet potato
  * Tangerine
  * Taro
  * Tomato
  * Turnip
  * Watermelon



**Common Meat Sources**

  * Beef
  * Chicken
  * Duck
  * Freshwater fish
  * Goat
  * Goose
  * Horse
  * Mutton/Lamb
  * Pork
  * Rabbit/Hare
  * Venison



**Common Nuts/Legumes/Seeds**

  * Almond
  * Black-eyed pea
  * Chick Peas/Garbanzo beans
  * Hazelnut
  * Kidney bean
  * Lentils
  * Lima beans
  * Mung bean
  * Mustard seed
  * Okra
  * Pea
  * Poppy seed
  * Pumpkin seed
  * Sesame seed
  * Snow pea
  * Sunflower seed
  * Walnut



**Common Spices**

  * Allspice
  * Basil
  * Cardamom
  * Chili
  * Chutney
  * Cinnamon
  * Cloves
  * Coriander
  * Cumin
  * Dill
  * Fennel
  * Fenugreek
  * Garlic
  * Ginger
  * Kewra
  * Mace
  * Mint
  * Mustard
  * Nutmeg
  * Parsley
  * Pepper
  * Poppy seed
  * Saffron
  * Salt
  * Sumac
  * Tamarind
  * Turmeric



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Native to the Region**

  * Aloo chaat—potatoes fried in oil, with added spices and chutney. Served as a street food.
  * Aloo gosht—a meat curry, consisting of potatoes cooked with lamb or mutton, in a stew-like gravy. The dish is served and eaten with rice or bread such as roti, paratha and naan.
  * Aloo paratha—a breakfast food. Paratha bread is stuffed with a spiced mixture of mashed potato, which is rolled out and cooked on a hot tawa (a disc-shaped griddle). The dish is served with butter or chutney.
  * Aloo tikki—a snack made of boiled potatoes and various spices.
  * Aushak—pasta dumplings filled with scallion and a hearty tomato sauce, topped with yogurt and dried mint. This is time-consuming to make; it is typically served on holidays.
  * Baghara baingan—an eggplant curry.
  * Bhurta—a lightly fried mixture of mashed vegetables, such as potatoes, eggplant, bitter watermelon, tomato, onion, and tempered spices.
  * Cakcak—a sweet made from unleavened dough cut and rolled into a hazelnut-sized ball, which is then deep-fried in oil. Hazelnuts or dried fruit may be added to the mixture. The balls are stacked in a mound and drenched with hot honey. They are then left to cool and dry.
  * Chakna—a spicy stew made of goat tripe and other animal digestive parts.
  * Chalap—a beverage consisting of yogurt, salt and carbonated water.
  * Chiburekki—a fried turnover with a filling of ground or minced meat and onions.
  * Chicken tikka—small pieces of boneless chicken baked using skewers, in a tandoor, after marinating in spices and yogurt. The chicken is brushed with clarified butter at intervals. It is typically eaten with coriander and chutney, and is served alongside onion rings and lemon.
  * Churri—a spicy side dish made from yogurt and butter milk.
  * Egg bhurji—a dish made of scrambled eggs, with sautéed chopped onions, chilies, and other spices. It is typically served with roti.
  * Falooda—a cold, sweet beverage. It is made by mixing rose syrup with basil seeds, jelly pieces and tapioca pearls with either milk, water or ice cream.
  * Gulab jamun—a dessert. A dough consisting mainly of milk solids is rolled into a ball together with flour and is then deep fried, but at a low temperature (around 148°C). It is then put in a sugar syrup flavored with cardamom seeds and rosewater, kewra or saffron.
  * Gulkand—a sweet preserve of rose petals.
  * Jalfrezi—a curry in which marinated pieces of meat or vegetables are fried in oil and spices to produce a dry, thick sauce. It is cooked with green chilies, which means that that the dish can be very spicy; those wishing to cool it down by adding cream as well. Other main ingredients include peppers, onions and tomato.
  * Kabuli pulao—a steamed rice dish mixed with lentils, carrots, raisins and lamb.
  * Kadchgall—a hard cylindrical cheese made of sheep milk; it is generally sweet and a little salty.
  * Kadu bouranee—a pumpkin dish made by frying pumpkin with various spices. It’s topped with sour cream and dried mint. Kadu bouranee is typically eaten with bread or rice.
  * Kahwah—a green tea, made by boiling green tea leaves with saffron strands, cinnamon bark and cardamom pods. It is generally served with sugar or honey, and with crushed almonds or walnuts. It is traditionally prepared in a samovar.
  * Kattama—a fried layered bread.
  * Kazy—a sausage made out of the flesh of a horse’s ribs, seasoned with pepper and garlic.
  * Kesme—a noodle dish; the noodles are boiled in a broth alongside ingredients such as potatoes, meat, carrots, peppers and tomatoes.
  * Lavash—a soft, thin flatbread typically used as plating for meat or stew.
  * Magaj—an offal dish, made of the brain of a cow, goat or sheep served with gravy. Almonds and pistachios are often added.
  * Manti—a meat dumpling made of one of the following ingredients: lamb, beef, potato, or pumpkin; fat is often added to meat manti. Manti are topped with butter. Since the preparation of manti is so time-consuming, it becomes an all-family activity.
  * Mattha—a spiced beverage made of buttermilk. Ingredients may include mint, roasted cumin seeds, curry leaves, salt and sugar. It may also be smoked. Mattha is typically served before or after a meal
  * Naan—a leavened, oven-baked flatbread. Usually served with all dishes.
  * Obi Non—a flatbread pastry, shaped like a disc; thicker than naan.
  * Orama—a steamed pie. The dough is made from flour, water and salt, kneaded and rolled thin. The filling may contain minced potato, animal fat, and sometimes minced pumpkin. The dough is rolled across the filling to create a wrap; the wraps are laid in a circle in a steamer pot and steamed.
  * Paneer—an unaged, acid-set, non-melting curd cheese made by curdling heated milk with lemon juice or vinegar.
  * Paratha—an unleavened flatbread.
  * Piti—a soup made with mutton and vegetables (tomatoes, potatoes and chickpeas), infused with saffron water to add flavor, and cooked in a sealed crock.
  * Ras malai—a sweet dessert consisting of sugary white, cream or yellow-colored balls of paneer soaked in clotted cream, flavored with cardamom.
  * Roti—an unleavened flatbread made from stone-ground wholemeal flour.
  * Qurut—a type of cheese often eaten as a snack. It is made from drained sour milk or yogurt by forming it and letting it dry.
  * Shami kebab—a kebab composed of small patties or minced mutton or beef, ground chickpeas and spices.
  * Sher berinj—a rice pudding flavored with rosewater and chopped almonds. It is served chilled as a dessert.
  * Sujuk—a dry, spicy sausage. It is made of ground meat (usually beef or pork), with spices such as cumin, garlic, salt, sumac and red pepper. This is fed into a sausage casing and left to dry for several weeks.
  * Talkhan—a sweet made from walnuts and mulberries. It resembles chocolate, but lighter and coarser.
  * Tandoor bread—a type of bread baked in a clay oven called a tandoor.
  * Tea
  * Tikka—a dish made of chicken cutlets in a marinade made from a mixture of spices and yogurt.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Hi no Kuni**

  * Anmitsu—a dessert made of small cubes of agar jelly; served in a bowl with red bean paste boiled peas, and a variety of fruit; usually comes with a small pot of sweet black syrup, which one pours on the jelly before eating.
  * Anpan—sweet roll filled with red bean paste.
  * Botamochi—a springtime treat made with sweet rice and red bean paste; the red bean paste is packed around a ball of rice.
  * Butadon—“pork bowl”; a dish consisting of a bowl of rice topped with pork simmered in a mildly sweet sauce. It’s often sprinkled with green peas.
  * Chadango—green-tea flavored dango.
  * Chukadon—a popular fast food dish, consisting of a bowl of rice with stir-fried vegetables, onions, mushrooms, and thin slices of meat on top.
  * Curry
  * Curry bread—deep friend bread filled with curry sauce; can also be filled with sesame or chestnuts
  * Dango—a dumpling made from rice flour, and is often served with green tea. Dango is eaten year-round, but seasonal varieties exist.
  * Denpun dango—dango made from potato and baked with sweet boiled beans.
  * Donburi—a “rice bowl dish” consisting of fish, meat, vegetables and other ingredients simmered together and over rice.
  * Gyoza—boiled, steamed or pan-fried dumplings, filled with pork, beef, chicken, fish, shrimp, cabbage, scallion, leek or garlic chives, or some combination of the ingredients.
  * Hayashi rice—beef and onions stewed in a red-wine sauce and served on rice.
  * Hiyashi chuka—a dish consisting of chilled ramen noodles with various toppings, including strips of egg, carrot, cucumber, ginger, ham, chicken, or barbecued pork. It is typically served in summer.
  * Kakigori—a shaved ice dessert flavored with syrup and condensed milk. Popular flavors include: strawberry, cherry, lemon, green tea, grape, melon, and sweet plum. Its texture is similar to fresh fallen snow.
  * Katsudon—a bowl of rice topped with tonkatsu, egg and condiments.
  * Kibi dango—dango made with millet flour.
  * Kiritanpo—freshly cooked rice is pounded until somewhat mashed, then formed into cylinders around cedar skewers, and toasted over an open hearth. It can then be served with sweet miso or used as dumplings into soups.
  * Kuri dango—dango covered in chestnut paste.
  * Kushikatsu—skewered meat, vegetables or seafood, breaded and deep-fried
  * Miso soup—a soup consisting of dashi stock into which softened miso paste is mixed. Various ingredients may be added, including tofu, nori, scallions, mushrooms, potatoes, onion, shrimp, fish, and grated or sliced daikon.
  * Mitarashi dango—dango (dumplings) skewered onto sticks in groups of 3-5 and covered with a sweet soy sauce. Characterized by its glassy glaze and burnt fragrance.
  * Mochi—a rice cake made out of glutinous, waxy, sweet or mochi rice. The rice is pounded into paste and moulded into a desired shape.
  * Negimaki—broiled strips of beef marinated in teriyaki sauce and rolled with scallions.
  * Oden—a winter dish consisting of boiled eggs, daikon radish, konnyaku (a type of yam) and processed fish cakes stewed in a light, soy-flavored dashi broth.
  * Okonomiyaki—savory pancakes with various meat and vegetable ingredients
  * Onigiri—rice balls, either ball- or triangle-shaped. They may be solid rice or filled with fillings such as: tuna with mayonnaise, shrimp with mayonnaise, roasted and crumbled mackerel, tempura, cutlets, umeboshi, squid, roe, salmon, or some other filling.
  * Pocky—a snack-food, consisting of biscuit-sticks half-covered in some sort of glaze: chocolate, strawberry, grape, azuki bean, caramel, milk tea, cream cheese, berry, sweet potato, coconut, pineapple, pumpkin, hazelnut, blueberry, green tea, apple, honey, milk, or some other glaze.
  * Ramen—a noodle dish. It consists of wheat noodles served in a meat- or occasionally fish-based broth, often flavored with soy sauce or miso, and uses toppings such as sliced pork, dried seaweed, kamaboko, green onions and occasionally corn. There are many different varieties of ramen.
  * Sake—a fermented rice wine (Though in actuality, it has more in common with beer).
  * Sata andagi—sweet deep fried buns of dough, similar to doughnuts
  * Soba—a type of thin noodle made from buckwheat flour, served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup.
  * Somen—thin white wheat noodles served chilled with a dipping sauce.
  * Sukiyaki—a soup or stew consisting of thinly sliced meat (usually beef), which is slowly cooked or simmered at the table, alongside vegetable and other ingredients in a shallow iron pit in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar and mirin. Before being eaten, the ingredients are usually dipped in a small bowl of raw, beaten eggs.
  * Taiyaki—a fish-shaped cake, made of pancake batter, and filled with red bean paste, custard, cheese, chocolate, okonomiyaki, gyoza filling, or sausage (The latter three being the least common).
  * Takikomi gohan—a rice dish seasoned with dashi and soy sauce, along with mushrooms, vegetables, meat or fish.
  * Takoyaki—a ball-shaped snack made of a wheat flour-based batter, filled with octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger, and green onion. After being cooked, they are brushed with takoyaki sauce, and then sprinkled with aonori (green seaweed) and shavings of dried bonito (a type of fish).
  * Tamagozake—a beverage consisting of heated sake, sugar, and a raw egg; often called “egg sake.”
  * Tekkadon—a rice dish topped with thin-sliced raw tuna or salmon sashimi.
  * Tempura—a dish of seafood or vegetables that have been battered and deep-fried.
  * Tentsuyu—tempura dip.
  * Tonkatsu—deep-fried breaded cutlet of pork.
  * Toriten—Tempura-style fried chicken, cut into nuggets, dipped in soy sauce, sake and garlic powder, rolled in tempura powder and then deep-fried.
  * Udon—a type of thick wheat-flour noodles, usually served hot in a noodle soup.
  * Umeboshi—picked ume plums
  * Umeshu—a liqueur made from steeping ume in alcohol and sugar. It has a sweet, sour taste, and an alcohol content of 10-15%.
  * Yakitori—skewered chicken.
  * Zoni—a soup containing mochi.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kaze no Kuni**

  * Abgusht—a mutton stew thickened with chickpeas; usually made with lamb, chickpeas, onions, potatoes and tomatoes, and dried lime.
  * Akkawi cheese—a white brine cheese, made from goat’s or sheep’s milk. It is a soft cheese with a smooth texture and a mild salty taste. It is typically served either by itself or with fruit.
  * Arak—a highly alcoholic drink; it is clear, colorless, and flavored with anise.
  * Asida—a cooked wheat flour lump of dough, served with butter or honey.
  * Ayran—cold yogurt beverage mixed with cold water and sometimes with salt.
  * Baba Ghanoush—a dish of eggplant mashed and mixed with virgin olive oil and various spices.
  * Baklava—a rich, sweet pastry, made of layers of phyllo dough filled with chopped nuts (typically walnuts or pistachios) and sweetened with syrup or honey. It is served cold, at room temperature or re-warmed.
  * Basbousa—a dessert; a sweet cake made of semolina and soaked in syrup. Often served with pistachios or almonds.
  * Batata harra—a vegetable dish consisting of potatoes, red peppers, coriander, chili and garlic, fried together in olive oil.
  * Bichak—a stuffed baked tri-cornered appetizer served during tea or coffee hour. It can be filled with jam for a sweet taste, or meat and cheese for a savory taste.
  * Boukha—a distilled beverage produced from figs.
  * Briouat—a sweet puff pastry, filled with chicken or lamb mixed with cheese, lemon and pepper. They are wrapped in warqa (a paper-thin dough) in a triangular or cylinder shape, and are then fried or baked, sprinkled with herbs, spices, and sometimes with powdered sugar.
  * Chakna—a spicy stew made out of goat tripe and other animal digestive parts, such as liver and kidney.
  * Coffee
  * Gheimeh—a stew consisting of cubed lamb, crushed chickpeas, tomatoes, onion, and dried lime. It is garnished with eggplant and served with rice.
  * Gyro—strips of lamb (or less commonly, chicken), tomatoes, onion and tzatziki in a thick pita wrap. May occasionally have potato in the wrap as well.
  * Halloumi—a semi-hard, unripened brined cheese made from a mixture of goat and sheep’s milk; can be easily fried or grilled.
  * Halva—a nougat of sesame with almonds.
  * Idli—a savory cake made by steaming a (2 to 3 inch diameter) batter consisting of fermented lentils and rice. Typically eaten for breakfast.
  * Kheer—a dessert; made by boiling rice with milk and sugar. Kheer is flavored with saffron, pistachios or almonds.
  * Kichadi—a dish made out of cucumber and curd in raw or cooked form.
  * Kibbeh nayyeh—a dish consisting of minced raw lamb mixed with fine bulgur and spices. It’s often served with mint leaves and olive oil, green peppers and scallions. Sometimes a sauce of garlic or olive oil is served.
  * Kofta—balls of minced or ground goat/lamb meat, mixed with spices.
  * Kousa Mahshi—also known as stuffed marrows; squash stuffed with rice and meat; may be flavored with mint or garlic.
  * Makdous—oil-cured eggplants stuffed with walnuts, red pepper, garlic, olive oil and salt.
  * Manakish—dough topped with thyme, cheese or ground meat; it can be sliced or folded, and is eaten for breakfast and lunch.
  * Mansaf—a dish made of lamb cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yogurt and served with rice.
  * Matbucha—a cooked dish of tomatoes and bell peppers seasoned with garlic and chili peppers. It’s served as an appetizer.
  * Mattha—a spiced buttermilk beverage. It is spiced with mint, cumin, curry leaves, salt and sugar. Mattha is typically served before or after a meal, but can be drank with a meal, and is believed to aid in digestion.
  * Meghli—a dessert based on a floured rice pudding and spiced with anise, caraway and cinnamon. Often garnished with nuts such as almonds, pistachios and walnuts. It is often served to celebrate the birth of a child.
  * Merguez—a red, spicy mutton sausage, heavily spiced with chili peppers, and other spices such as sumac, fennel and garlic. It’s usually eaten grilled or with couscous.
  * Moussaka—a layered dish; ground meat and eggplant or potato casserole, topped with a savory custard browned in the oven.
  * Neer dosa—a crepe prepared from rice batter. It can be eaten with chutney, or fish, chicken or mutton curry.
  * Qotab—a deep-fried, almond-filled cake, prepared with flour, almonds, powdered sugar and vegetable oil.
  * Quzi—a rice based dish, served with slow-cooked lamb and roasted nuts
  * Sangak—a plain, rectangular, or triangular whole wheat sourdough flatbread. May be topped with poppy seeds or sesame seeds, but is often served plain.
  * Sfenj—a doughnut cooked in oil. It’s sprinkled with sugar or soaked in honey.
  * Shakshouka—a dish of poached eggs in a tomato, chili pepper and onion sauce; served with cumin; more of a winter dish.
  * Sharbat—a sweet drink that is prepared from fruit or flower petals. It is served chilled.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Tsuchi no Kuni**

  * Atholl brose—a drink made by mixing oatmeal brose, honey, whiskey, and sometimes cream.
  * Black bun—a type of fruit cake completely covered in pastry. The cake mixture typically includes raisins, currants, almonds, citrus peel, ginger, cinnamon and pepper.
  * Black Forest Cake—a dessert consisting of several layers of chocolate cake, with whipped cream and cherries between each layer; the top is decorated with whipped cream, cherries and chocolate shavings
  * Black pudding—a type of sausage made by cooking animal blood with a filler until it’s thick enough to congeal when cooled; pig, cow or sheep blood is the most common.
  * Bread pudding—a dessert, served hot, usually made with stale bread, and some combination of the following ingredients: milk, egg, suet, sugar or syrup, dried fruit, and spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, mace or vanilla. It may be topped with whipped cream or some sauce such as whiskey sauce, rum sauce or caramel. Is usually sprinkled with sugar and eaten warm in squares or slices.
  * Bread soup—a soup consisting of stale bread in a meat or sausage broth; may add other elements such as onions, spices, egg or bacon
  * Brose—an uncooked form of porridge, made of oatmeal mixed with boiling water and allowed to stand for a short time. It’s eaten with salt and butter, milk or buttermilk.
  * Buchteln—sweet rolls made of yeast dough, filled with jam, poppy seeds or curd, and baked in a large pan so they stick together.
  * Dampfnudel—a sort of white bread or sweet bread roll, eaten both with a meal and as a dessert.
  * Devilled kidneys—a breakfast dish consisting of lamb’s kidneys cooked in a spiced sauce.
  * Eccles cake—a small, round cake filled with currants and made from flaky pastry with butter, sometimes topped with sugar.
  * Egg and chips—a popular working-class dish, consisting of chips (fried potato chips; by American standards, French fries) served with fried eggs.
  * Egg salad
  * Fish and chips—a fast food dish of battered fish and deep-fried chips (French fries)
  * Fishcake—a filleted fish and potato patty sometimes coated in breadcrumbs or batter, and fried.
  * Fried bread—bread which after being sliced and fried is served as part of a meal.
  * Fruitcake
  * Ginger wine—a fortified wine made from a fermented blend of ground ginger and raisins.
  * Goulash—a stew of meat, noodles and vegetables (particularly potato), seasoned with paprika and other spices.
  * Hash—a dish consisting of diced meat, potatoes and spices that are then gathered and cooked together, either alone or with onions.
  * Pichelsteiner—a stew containing several types of meat and vegetables; seasoned with onion and garlic
  * Porridge
  * Potato bread—a form of bread in which potato replaces a portion of the regular wheat flour.
  * Potato pancakes
  * Potato salad
  * Pound cake
  * Sauerbraten—a pot roast (generally of beef, but other meats can be used as well), marinated before cooking in vinegar, water, spices and seasonings.
  * Sauerkraut—finely cut cabbage fermented by various lactic acid bacteria.
  * Sausage
  * Schuxen—an elongated fried dough pastry made from rye flour and yeast.
  * Scone—a wedge of bannock bread, often eaten with clotted cream or a sort of jam.
  * Scouse—a lamb or beef stew. Vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and onions are added.
  * Shepherd’s pie—a meat pie with a crust of mashed potato.
  * Spiced beef—a cured and salted joint of rump or silverside beef.
  * Strudel—a type of layered pastry with a sweet filling inside; popular fillings include apple, plum, milk cream and cherries.
  * Suckling Pig
  * Summer pudding—a dessert made of sliced white bread, layered in a deep bowl with fruit and fruit juice. The contents of the bowl are left to soak overnight. It’s much easier to make if the bread is somewhat stale. Popular fruit to make it with include: strawberries, raspberries, black and redcurrants, and blackberries.
  * Syllabub—a dessert made from rich milk or cream seasoned with sugar and lightly curdled with wine.
  * Tatws pum munud—a stew made with smoked bacon, stock, potatoes and other vegetables; all the ingredients are cut into slices, so as to lie flat.
  * Teacake—a light yeast-based sweet bun containing dried fruit, typically toasted and buttered, served with tea.
  * Tilsit cheese—a light yellow, semi-hard smear-ripened cheese.
  * Trifle—a dessert made from thick custard, fruit, sponge cake, fruit juice and whipped cream, arranged in layers.
  * Various fruit pies (rhubarb, apple, strawberry and rhubarb, and so on)
  * Veda—a malted bread. A small, caramel-colored loaf with a very soft consistency when fresh.
  * White pudding—a sausage similar to black pudding, except it’s made of fat instead of blood.
  * Zeeuwse bolus—a sweet pastry made by baking dough in a spiral shape and covering it with treacle and cinnamon; the flatter underside is covered with butter.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kusa no Kuni**

  * Ajapsandali—a vegetarian dish consisting of eggplant, potato, tomato, bell pepper and seasoning.
  * Baursaki—doughnut-like pastries, consisting of fried dough shaped into either spheres or triangles.
  * Boortsog—a fried dough snack.
  * Cakcak—a sweet made from unleavened dough cut and rolled into hazelnut-sized balls, which are then deep-fried in oil. Hazelnuts or dried fruits may be added to the mixture, or they might not be. The fried balls are stacked in a mound and drenched with hot honey. After cooling and hardening, the mound might be topped with hazelnuts or dried fruits. This is a popular dish at weddings.
  * Chacha—a clear, strong liquor made of grape pomace.
  * Chakapuli—a stew made of onion, lamb chops, dry white wine, tarragon leaves, plum sauce, mixed fresh herbs (parsley, mint, dill, cilantro), garlic and salt.
  * Chalap—a beverage consisting of yogurt and salt.
  * Chegdermeh—a dish in which rice, mutton, tomato, onion, and oil is simultaneously cooked with water, with add-ons such as salt and pepper.
  * Choila—a dish consisting of spiced grilled meat, usually chicken or duck; it is eaten with beaten rice and is typically quite spicy.
  * Chuchvara—a very small dumpling made of unleavened dough square filled with meat. The meat filling may be seasoned with chopped onions, salt and pepper.
  * Dimlama—a stew made of a combination of meat, potatoes, onions, vegetables, and sometimes fruit.
  * Dovga—a yogurt soup cooked with a variety of herbs (coriander, dill and others) and rice. It’s served warm in winter or cold in summer.
  * Gatik—a thick drinking yogurt, often served with breakfast.
  * Khinkali—a dumpling filled with various fillings, mostly with spiced meat (usually beef and pork, sometimes lamb), greens, and onions. Mushrooms or cheese may be used in place of meat. They are eaten plain, or with black pepper. The khinkali is consumed by first sucking out the juices inside the dumpling, so it doesn’t burst. The top is tough and not meant to be eaten; it is usually left on the plate to keep track of how many someone has eaten.
  * Khorovats—barbecued meat on skewers, similar to kebabs and yakitori.
  * Kifli—a bread roll fashioned in a crescent shape.
  * Kolache—a pastry that holds a dollop of fruit rimmed by a puffy pillow of supple dough.
  * Kubdari—a filled bread dish. The bread is leavened and allowed to rise. The filling contains chunks of meat, which can be lamb, kid or pork, spices and onions.
  * Parenica—a semi-hard, non-ripening, semi-fat, steamed and usually smoked cheese, creamy yellow in color, twisted into snail-like spirals.
  * Pogasca—a savory scone, sprinkled with either cheese, pork crackling, cabbage, black pepper, paprika, garlic, red onion, caraway seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds or poppy seeds.
  * Qurabiya—a shortbread-type biscuit made with ground almonds.
  * Raksi—a traditional distilled alcoholic beverage, usually made at home, usually made from rice.
  * Sarburma—a meat pie made out of dough and lamb.
  * Sel roti—a circular-shaped bread or rice doughnut.
  * Shoti—a bread made out of white flour and shaped like a canoe rowboat.
  * Sujuk—a dry, spicy sausage consisting of ground meat (either beef or pork) with various spices such as cumin, sumac, garlic, salt and red pepper, fed into a sausage casing and allowed to dry for several weeks.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kawa no Kuni**

  * Afelia—pork marinated and cooked in red wine with coarsely crushed coriander seed.
  * Aioli—a sauce made of garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and egg yolks. There may be an addition of mustard, pear, or both.
  * Ashure—a pudding made with grains, fruits and nuts.
  * Bazlama—a single-layered, flat, circular leavened bread with a creamy yellow color.
  * Beyaz peynir—a salty, white cheese made from unpasteurized sheep milk. It has a slightly grainy appearance and is similar to feta cheese.
  * Bhakri—a round, flat, unleavened bread, with about the same hardness as a biscuit.
  * Bougatsa—a sweet breakfast pastry made of semolina custard, cheese, or minced meat filling between layers of phyllo.
  * Cezerye—a confection made from caramelized carrots, packed with nuts or pistachios. It’s cut into roughly 1” X 1.5” rectangular chips and served on special occasions.
  * Chechil—a brined string cheese.
  * Dakos—a slice of soaked dried bread topped with chopped tomatoes and crumbled feta or mizithra cheese, olives and flavored with herbs such as dried oregano.
  * Daktyla—a leavened bread with a segmented shape resembling fingers or bread.
  * Escudella i carn d’olla—a stew, made with a large meatball spiced with garlic and parsley; it also contains celery, carrots, cabbage, and so on, depending on the season.
  * Fasolada—a bean soup made of dry white beans, tomatoes, carrots, celery, and olive oil.
  * Feta—a brined curd cheese, crumbly, aged, with a salty, mildly sour taste.
  * Fuet—a thin, cured, dry pork sausage in a pork gut casing.
  * Gajar ka halwa—a sweet dessert pudding. It is made by placing grated carrot in a jar containing water, milk and sugar, and then cooked, stirring regularly. It is often served with almonds. The nuts and other items used are first sautéed in clarified butter.
  * Galaktoboureko—a dessert of semolina-based custard in phyllo dough.
  * Garrotxa cheese—a pressed cheese made from unpasteurized goat’s milk.
  * Giouvetsi—a lamb or chicken dish. Other ingredients include pasta, onions/shallots, garlic, beef stock and red wine.
  * Kokoretsi—a dish consisting mainly of goat or lamb intestines, often wrapping seasoned offal, including sweetbreads, hearts, lungs or kidneys. The intestines of suckling lambs are preferred. They are seasoned with lemon, oregano, olive oil, salt and pepper. The meat is then skewered.
  * Loukaniko—a pork sausage flavored with orange peel, fennel seed, and various other dried herbs and spices, and sometimes smoked over aromatic woods.
  * Loukomades—a fried-dough pastry made of deep-fried dough soaked in sugar syrup or honey and cinnamon, and sometimes sprinkled with sesame.
  * Manouri—a semi-soft, white whey cheese made from goat or sheep milk.
  * Mato—a fresh cheese made from cow or goat milk, with no salt added. It is usually served with honey, as a dessert.
  * Menemen—a dish which includes egg, onion, tomato and green peppers, and spices such as ground black pepper, ground red pepper, salt, oregano and mint. Black or green olives can also be an ingredient. Sausage or cured beef can be added. The eggs are scrambled. It is cooked with olive or sunflower oil.
  * Mizithra—an unpasteurized fresh cheese made with milk and whey from sheep or goats. It is white, soft, creamy and moist, and should have an acidic, sour flavor.
  * Nokul—a type of pastry eaten as an appetizer in place of bread; it consists of a rolled sheet of yeast dough onto which a feta, walnut, or poppy seed is sprinkled over a thin coat of butter. The dough is then rolled, cut into individual peaces, and baked.
  * Pa amb tomaquet—bread, sometimes toasted, rubbed over with tomato and seasoned with olive oil and salt. Sometimes garlic is added to the bread before the tomato.
  * Panipuri—a street food; a round, hollow puri is filled with a mixture of water, tamarind, chili, potato, onion, and chickpeas.
  * Pilaf—a dish in which rice is cooked in a seasoned broth. The rice may attain its brown color by being stirred with bits of cooked onion, as well as a large mix of other spices. It may or may not contain a mixture of meat and vegetables as well.
  * Souvlaki—(plural: souvlakia) small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer. The meat is usually pork.
  * Tarator—a cold soup (or liquid salad) popular in the summer. It’s made of yogurt, cucumber, garlic, walnut, dill, vegetable oil and water.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Taki no Kuni**

  * Bai pong moan—fried eggs and white rice; the eggs are flavored with salt and soy sauce, and the rice with soy sauce. It’s a cheap dish, easy to prepare, on the same level as instant ramen.
  * Balut—fertilized duck embryo that is boiled and eaten in its shell
  * Banh bao—a ball-shaped dumpling consisting of pork or chicken, onion, eggs, mushrooms and vegetables.
  * Banh ran—a deep-fried glutinous rice ball. The outer shell is made from glutinous rice flour, and covered with sesame seeds. The filling is made from sweetened mung bean paste, and scented with jasmine flower essence.
  * Banh re—a street food; sweet potatoes are made into a pancake, deep-fried, then sugared.
  * Bay chhar—fried rice, cooked with sausage, garlic, soy sauce and herbs, and often served with pork.
  * Bosna—a spicy fast food dish. It resembles a hot dog, consisting of a bratwurst sausage, onions, and a blend of mustard, tomato ketchup and curry powder. It’s made with white bread and usually grilled briefly before serving.
  * Bratwurst—a sausage usually composed of veal, pork or beef, usually grilled or pan-fried.
  * Bun cha—a grilled pork noodle soup; white rice noodles and grilled fatty pork in a steamy broth of fish sauce.
  * Donauwelle—a sheet cake. A marble pound cake with sour cherries, buttercream, cocoa and chocolate.
  * Khai yat sai—a type of omelet. The egg is cooked lightly, topped with several ingredients such as minced beef or pork, peas, onion, scallions, carrots and tomatoes, seasoned with fish sauce and/or oyster sauce, and then folded over.
  * Khanom bueang—a popular form of street food. It resembles a hard taco, made from rice flour. It is typically first filled with sour cream, and then followed by such fillings as strips of fried eggs or egg yolks and scallions.
  * Khanom chin—fresh rice noodles.
  * Mekhong—a golden-colored spirit, similar in taste to rum.
  * Mi krop—a dish made with rice noodles and a sauce that is both sweet and acidic; the acidic taste comes from one of the ingredients in the sauce, citron peel.
  * Nam ngiao—a noodle soup made with khanom chin, beef or pork, diced curdled blood, chopped tomatoes and crispy roasted or fried dry chilies and garlic. It’s often served alongside pork rinds.
  * Sai ua—a grilled pork sausage, containing minced pork meat, herbs, spices and red curry paste. It is usually eaten grilled alongside sticky rice.
  * Zemlovka—a sweet dish made of apples and kifli that are soaked in milk. A variant of this uses pears instead of apples. The milk is flavored with sugar, vanilla sugar, and ground cinnamon. It can be eaten both hot and cold.



**Special Notes**

  * The real life inspiration of Ame no Kuni cuisine is the cuisine of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan.
  * Ame no Kuni, due to its isolationist policies, attempts to resist “cross-contamination” by other food cultures, but is relatively unsuccessful due to its central location and the major nations disrespect of minor nations; in some parts of the country, foreign food is easier to find than native food. 
    * In Amegakure, however, you will find native Ame cuisine, and only native Ame cuisine.
  * However, Ame no Kuni cuisine is well-known for being aromatic and at times spicy.
  * Though it was once a barren country, today Ame no Kuni is hailed as one of the most fertile growing regions in the known world.




	9. Hi no Kuni Cuisine

**Hi no Kuni Cuisine**

**Staples**

  * Azuki beans
  * Egg noodles
  * Rice
  * Wheat



**Common Fruits and Vegetables**

  * Apples
  * Blackberry
  * Blueberries
  * Cabbage
  * Cherries
  * Cucumber
  * Daikon (Radish)
  * Eggplant
  * Grapefruit
  * Grapes
  * Kumquat
  * Lemon
  * Lime
  * Nori (seaweed)
  * Onions
  * Oranges
  * Peaches
  * Pear
  * Peppers
  * Persimmons
  * Plums
  * Potato
  * Quince
  * Raspberry
  * Spinach
  * Squash
  * Strawberries
  * Sweet Potato
  * Tangerine
  * Tar
  * Ume (translates to plum, but has more in common with the apricot)
  * Yuzu (a hybrid of sour mandarin and Ichang papeda)



**Common Meat Sources**

  * Beef
  * Chicken
  * Duck
  * Freshwater fish
  * Goose
  * Pork
  * Rabbit/Hare
  * Quail
  * Saltwater fish
  * Shellfish
  * Venison



**Common Nuts/Legumes/Seeds**

  * Azuki beans
  * Chestnuts
  * Sesame seeds
  * Soybeans
  * Walnuts



**Common Spices**

  * Ginger
  * Horseradish
  * Mustard
  * Red pepper
  * Salt
  * Wasabi



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Native to the Region**

  * Akashiyaki—small, round dumplings made of an egg-rich batter and octopus dipped into dashi (a thin fish broth) before eating.
  * Anmitsu—a dessert made of small cubes of agar jelly; served in a bowl with red bean paste boiled peas, and a variety of fruit; usually comes with a small pot of sweet black syrup, which one pours on the jelly before eating.
  * Anpan—sweet roll filled with red bean paste
  * Aojiru—a vegetable drink most commonly made from kale.
  * Botamochi—a springtime treat made with sweet rice and red bean paste; the red bean paste is packed around a ball of rice.
  * Butadon—“pork bowl”; a dish consisting of a bowl of rice topped with pork simmered in a mildly sweet sauce. It’s often sprinkled with green peas.
  * Chadango—green-tea flavored dango.
  * Chawanmushi—egg custard, usually eaten as an appetizer. Consists of an egg mixture flavored with soy sauce, dashi, and mirin (rice wine; not sake), with other ingredients such as shiitake mushrooms, kamaboko (cured surimi, a fish paste), lily root and boiled shrimp. The mixture is placed into a tea-cup like container.
  * Chazuke—a dish made by pouring green tea, dashi, or hot water over cooked rice in roughly the same proportion as milk over cereal. Toppings include tsukemono (pickled vegetables), umeboshi, nori, furikake, sesame seeds, tarako (salted roe), mentaiko (salted and marinated roe), salted salmon, shiokara (pickled seafood), and wasabi.
  * Chukadon—a popular fast food dish, consisting of a bowl of rice with stir-fried vegetables, onions, mushrooms, and thin slices of meat on top.
  * Curry
  * Curry bread—deep friend bread filled with curry sauce; can also be filled with sesame or chestnuts
  * Dango—a dumpling made from rice flour, and is often served with green tea. Dango is eaten year-round, but seasonal varieties exist.
  * Dashi—a thin fish broth used in cooking.
  * Denpun dango—dango made from potato and baked with sweet boiled beans.
  * Donburi—a “rice bowl dish” consisting of fish, meat, vegetables and other ingredients simmered together and over rice.
  * Furikake—a condiment made of a mixture of dried and ground fish, sesame seeds, chopped seaweed, sugar, salt, and monosodium glutamate.
  * Ganmodoki—fried tofu fritter made with vegetables, egg white and sesame seeds.
  * Gyoza—boiled, steamed or pan-fried dumplings, filled with pork, beef, chicken, fish, shrimp, cabbage, scallion, leek or garlic chives, or some combination of the ingredients.
  * Hayashi rice—beef and onions stewed in a red-wine sauce and served on rice.
  * Hiyashi chuka—a dish consisting of chilled ramen noodles with various toppings, including strips of egg, carrot, cucumber, ginger, ham, chicken, or barbecued pork. It is typically served in summer.
  * Ikameshi—a Japanese dish composed of squid cooked with rice inside. The rice is usually a blend of glutinous and non-glutinous rice. Other ingredients sometimes used as stuffing include minced squid tentacles, bamboo shoots, carrots, and aburaage (A food product made from soybeans).
  * Ikayaki—a fast food; grilled squid topped with soy sauce.
  * Imoni—a thick meat and potato soup traditionally eaten in the autumn.
  * Kakigori—a shaved ice dessert flavored with syrup and condensed milk. Popular flavors include: strawberry, cherry, lemon, green tea, grape, melon, and sweet plum. Its texture is similar to fresh fallen snow.
  * Katsudon—a bowl of rice topped with tonkatsu, egg and condiments.
  * Kibi dango—dango made with millet flour.
  * Kiritanpo—freshly cooked rice is pounded until somewhat mashed, then formed into cylinders around cedar skewers, and toasted over an open hearth. It can then be served with sweet miso or used as dumplings into soups.
  * Kuri dango—dango covered in chestnut paste.
  * Kushikatsu—skewered meat, vegetables or seafood, breaded and deep-fried
  * Miso soup—a soup consisting of dashi stock into which softened miso paste is mixed. Various ingredients may be added, including tofu, nori, scallions, mushrooms, potatoes, onion, shrimp, fish, and grated or sliced daikon.
  * Mitarashi dango—dango (dumplings) skewered onto sticks in groups of 3-5 and covered with a sweet soy sauce. Characterized by its glassy glaze and burnt fragrance.
  * Mochi—a rice cake made out of glutinous, waxy, sweet or mochi rice. The rice is pounded into paste and moulded into a desired shape.
  * Namasu—a dish of thinly sliced uncooked vegetables and seafood, marinated in rice vinegar for several hours, pickling them slightly.
  * Natto—soybeans fermented with Bacillus subtilis (A bacteria harmless to all those but the most immunocompromised). It has a powerful smell, strong flavor, and slimy texture. It’s considered an acquired taste, and is popular as a breakfast food.
  * Negimaki—broiled strips of beef marinated in teriyaki sauce and rolled with scallions.
  * Oden—a winter dish consisting of boiled eggs, daikon radish, konnyaku (a type of yam) and processed fish cakes stewed in a light, soy-flavored dashi broth.
  * Okonomiyaki—savory pancakes with various meat and vegetable ingredients
  * Onigiri—rice balls, either ball- or triangle-shaped. They may be solid rice or filled with fillings such as: tuna with mayonnaise, shrimp with mayonnaise, roasted and crumbled mackerel, tempura, cutlets, umeboshi, squid, roe, salmon, or some other filling.
  * Pocky—a snack-food, consisting of biscuit-sticks half-covered in some sort of glaze: chocolate, strawberry, grape, azuki bean, caramel, milk tea, cream cheese, berry, sweet potato, coconut, pineapple, pumpkin, hazelnut, blueberry, green tea, apple, honey, milk, or some other glaze.
  * Ramen—a noodle dish. It consists of wheat noodles served in a meat- or occasionally fish-based broth, often flavored with soy sauce or miso, and uses toppings such as sliced pork, dried seaweed, kamaboko, green onions and occasionally corn. There are many different varieties of ramen.
  * Sake—a fermented rice wine (Though in actuality, it has more in common with beer).
  * Sashimi—very fresh raw meat or fish sliced into thin pieces.
  * Sekihan—sticky rice steamed with azuki beans, thus giving the rice a reddish color. It is often consumed on special occasions such as birthdays and weddings.
  * Sata andagi—sweet deep fried buns of dough, similar to doughnuts
  * Soba—a type of thin noodle made from buckwheat flour, served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup.
  * Somen—thin white wheat noodles served chilled with a dipping sauce.
  * Sukiyaki—a soup or stew consisting of thinly sliced meat (usually beef), which is slowly cooked or simmered at the table, alongside vegetable and other ingredients in a shallow iron pit in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar and mirin. Before being eaten, the ingredients are usually dipped in a small bowl of raw, beaten eggs.
  * Sushi—a food consisting of vinegared rice combined with other ingredients, such as raw fish or other seafood.
  * Taiyaki—a fish-shaped cake, made of pancake batter, and filled with red bean paste, custard, cheese, chocolate, okonomiyaki, gyoza filling, or sausage (The latter three being the least common).
  * Takikomi gohan—a rice dish seasoned with dashi and soy sauce, along with mushrooms, vegetables, meat or fish.
  * Takoyaki—a ball-shaped snack made of a wheat flour-based batter, filled with octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger, and green onion. After being cooked, they are brushed with takoyaki sauce, and then sprinkled with aonori (green seaweed) and shavings of dried bonito (a type of fish).
  * Tamagozake—a beverage consisting of heated sake, sugar, and a raw egg; often called “egg sake.”
  * Tea
  * Tekkadon—a rice dish topped with thin-sliced raw tuna or salmon sashimi.
  * Tempura—a dish of seafood or vegetables that have been battered and deep-fried.
  * Tentsuyu—tempura dip.
  * Tofu—bean curd; made by coagulating soy juice and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks.
  * Tonkatsu—deep-fried breaded cutlet of pork.
  * Toriten—Tempura-style fried chicken, cut into nuggets, dipped in soy sauce, sake and garlic powder, rolled in tempura powder and then deep-fried.
  * Udon—a type of thick wheat-flour noodles, usually served hot in a noodle soup.
  * Umeboshi—picked ume plums
  * Umeshu—a liqueur made from steeping ume in alcohol and sugar. It has a sweet, sour taste, and an alcohol content of 10-15%.
  * Unagi—grilled and flavored eel
  * Yakitori—skewered chicken.
  * Zoni—a soup containing mochi.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kawa no Kuni**

  * Arros negre—a dish made of cuttlefish or squid, white rice, squid ink, garlic, green peppers, sweet paprika, olive oil, and seafood broth.
  * Ashure—a pudding made with grains, fruits and nuts.
  * Galaktoboureko—a dessert of semolina-based custard in phyllo dough.
  * Kitron—a lemon liquor made from the fruit and leaves of the citron tree.
  * Kofta—fried meatballs (made of ground or minced lamb) mixed with spices and/or onions, and topped with oregano and mint.
  * Souvlaki—(plural: souvlakia) small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer. The meat is usually pork.
  * Tarator—a cold soup (or liquid salad) popular in the summer. It’s made of yogurt, cucumber, garlic, walnut, dill, vegetable oil and water.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kaze no Kuni**

  * Baklava—a rich, sweet pastry, made of layers of phyllo dough filled with chopped nuts (typically walnuts or pistachios) and sweetened with syrup or honey. It is served cold, at room temperature or re-warmed.
  * Briouat—a sweet puff pastry, filled with chicken or lamb mixed with cheese, lemon and pepper. They are wrapped in warqa (a paper-thin dough) in a triangular or cylinder shape, and are then fried or baked, sprinkled with herbs, spices, and sometimes with powdered sugar.
  * Calamari—fried squid; served in the coastal areas
  * Coffee
  * Kheer—a dessert; made by boiling rice with milk and sugar. Kheer is flavored with saffron, pistachios or almonds.
  * Qotab—a deep-fried, almond-filled cake, prepared with flour, almonds, powdered sugar and vegetable oil.
  * Quzi—a rice based dish, served with slow-cooked lamb and roasted nuts



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kusa no Kuni**

  * Balyk—salted and dried soft parts of fish, such as salmon or sturgeon.
  * Baursaki—doughnut-like pastries, consisting of fried dough shaped into either spheres or triangles.
  * Gatik—a thick drinking yogurt, often served with breakfast.
  * Momo—a type of dumpling that may have one of the following fillings: meat (usually chicken, goat or pork, minced; the meat may be combined with garlic, onion, ginger and coriander); vegetables (finely chopped cabbage or potato); or cheese.
  * Tsheringma—an herbal tea taken as a traditional medicine, meant to soothe the nerves.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Tsuchi no Kuni**

  * Bakewell tart—a confection consisting of a shortcrust pastry with a layer of jam and sponge filling with almonds. It can be served warm or cold.
  * Black Forest Cake—a dessert consisting of several layers of chocolate cake, with whipped cream and cherries between each layer; the top is decorated with whipped cream, cherries and chocolate shavings
  * Buckling—a form of hot-smoked herring. The head and guts are removed, but the roe and milt remain.
  * Jellied eels—chopped eels boiled in a spiced stock that is allowed to cool and set, forming a jelly; can be eaten hot or cold.
  * Strudel—a type of layered pastry with a sweet filling inside; popular fillings include apple, plum, milk cream and cherries.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Shimo no Kuni**

  * Bublik—a bread ring similar to a bagel, but somewhat bigger, with a wider hole a denser, chewier texture.
  * Chiftele—flat, round meatballs made with minced pork meat, mixed with mashed potatoes and spices and deep-fried.
  * Frigarui—small pieces of meat (usually pork, beef, mutton, lamb or chicken) grilled on a skewer, similar to a kebab or yakitori.
  * Garash—a chocolate and walnut cake.
  * Halusky—a variety of thick, soft noodles or dumplings in a flour and mashed potato batter.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Yu no Kuni**

  * Arany galuska—a dessert consisting of dumpling balls layered in cakes with vanilla custard-filled pockets.
  * Fisherman’s soup—a hot, spicy paprika-based river fish soup, made with carp and other freshwater fish, red onions, green peppers, tomatoes and salt.
  * Fritule—a pastry resembling small doughnuts, usually flavored with brandy and citrus zest, contains raisins, and is topped with powdered sugar.
  * Punjena paprika—a dish made of peppers stuffed with a mix of meat and rice in tomato sauce, the ingredients consisting of green or red capsicums, eggs, spices, salt, tomato, minced meat and rice.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kaminari no Kuni**

  * Alexandertorte—a dessert consisting of pastry strips filled with raspberry preserves or raspberry jam. It’s typically eaten as a lunch or dinner dessert, but can also be served at tea.
  * Babka—a sweet yeast cake. It is spongy and has no filling, but is glazed with a vanilla- or chocolate-flavored icing, and decorated with almonds or candied fruit, sometimes with rum added.
  * Cepelinai—a dumpling made from grated potatoes and typically stuffed with minced meat, although sometimes dry cottage cheese or mushrooms are used instead.
  * Gravlax—raw salmon cured in salt, sugar and dill.
  * Kissel—a fruit dessert soup, made of sweetened juice, thickened with potato starch; can be served hot or cold.
  * Rosehip soup—a fruit soup made with rosehip, milk, cream and sweet dumplings; served hot during the winter.



**Special Notes**

  * The real life inspiration for Hi no Kuni cuisine is the food of Japan.
  * Hi no Kuni’s cuisine and cultural eating practices has migrated across the continent. You are most likely to find their food in Kaze and, to a lesser extent, Tsuchi no Kuni. There is less influence in Kaminari no Kuni, and essentially none at all in Mizu no Kuni, due to their isolation. As for the minor nations, and the Land of Iron, the degree of saturation tends to be mixed.




	10. Tsuchi no Kuni Cuisine

**Tsuchi no Kuni Cuisine**

**Staples**

  * Barley
  * Beef
  * Pork
  * Potatoes
  * Rice
  * Rye
  * Trout
  * Wheat



**Common Fruits and Vegetables**

  * Apple
  * Asparagus
  * Beet
  * Blackberry
  * Blackcurrant
  * Broccoli
  * Cabbage
  * Carrots
  * Cauliflower
  * Cherry
  * Celery
  * Cucumber
  * Damson Plum
  * Elderberry
  * Gooseberry
  * Grape
  * Green beans
  * Juniper berries
  * Leeks
  * Lemon
  * Lettuce
  * Lime
  * Onion
  * Oranges
  * Pear
  * Pepper
  * Plum
  * Pumpkin
  * Raspberry
  * Redcurrant
  * Rhubarb
  * Squash
  * Strawberry
  * Tomato
  * Turnip



**Common Meat Sources**

  * Beef
  * Boar
  * Chicken
  * Duck
  * Elk
  * Freshwater fish
  * Goat
  * Goose
  * Moose
  * Mutton/Lamb
  * Partridge
  * Pheasant
  * Pigeon
  * Pork
  * Quail
  * Rabbit/Hare
  * Reindeer
  * Saltwater fish
  * Shellfish
  * Venison



**Common Nuts/Legumes/Seeds**

  * Black Bean
  * Black-eyed pea
  * Chestnut
  * Green bean
  * Hazelnut
  * Lima beans
  * Kidney bean
  * Pea
  * Peanut
  * Poppy seeds
  * Pumpkin Seeds
  * Snow pea
  * Sunflower Seeds
  * Walnut



**Common Spices**

  * Allspice
  * Chives
  * Cinnamon
  * Cloves
  * Coriander
  * Cress
  * Dill
  * Garlic
  * Ginger
  * Mustard
  * Nutmeg
  * Oregano
  * Paprika
  * Pepper
  * Rosemary
  * Salt
  * Thyme



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Native to the Region**

  * Ale
  * Atholl brose—a drink made by mixing oatmeal brose, honey, whiskey, and sometimes cream.
  * Bacon and egg pie—a crisp pastry crust filled with bacon, egg, and, uncommonly, onion. Often has peas for color and a small amount of tomato.
  * Bakewell pudding—a dessert consisting of a flaky pastry base with a layer of sieved jam, topped with an egg and almond paste filling (Almonds are imported from Ame no Kuni). It can be served either hot or cold.
  * Bakewell tart—a confection consisting of a shortcrust pastry with a layer of jam and sponge filling with almonds. It can be served warm or cold.
  * Bannock—a variety of flat quick bread; a wedge cut out of this circular bread is referred to as a scone.
  * Barmbrack—a yeasted bread with added sultana grapes and raisins. Often served toasted with butter alongside tea.
  * Battered sausage—a pork sausage dipped in batter, fried, and usually served with chips.
  * Baumkuchen—a layered cake, resembling a large doughnut, and the layers resembling tree rings.
  * Black bun—a type of fruit cake completely covered in pastry. The cake mixture typically includes raisins, currants, almonds, citrus peel, ginger, cinnamon and pepper.
  * Black Forest Cake—a dessert consisting of several layers of chocolate cake, with whipped cream and cherries between each layer; the top is decorated with whipped cream, cherries and chocolate shavings
  * Black pudding—a type of sausage made by cooking animal blood with a filler until it’s thick enough to congeal when cooled; pig, cow or sheep blood is the most common.
  * Brathering—a simple dish of fried, marinated herring.
  * Bread pudding—a dessert, served hot, usually made with stale bread, and some combination of the following ingredients: milk, egg, suet, sugar or syrup, dried fruit, and spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, mace or vanilla. It may be topped with whipped cream or some sauce such as whiskey sauce, rum sauce or caramel. Is usually sprinkled with sugar and eaten warm in squares or slices.
  * Bread soup—a soup consisting of stale bread in a meat or sausage broth; may add other elements such as onions, spices, egg or bacon
  * Brose—an uncooked form of porridge, made of oatmeal mixed with boiling water and allowed to stand for a short time. It’s eaten with salt and butter, milk or buttermilk.
  * Buchteln—sweet rolls made of yeast dough, filled with jam, poppy seeds or curd, and baked in a large pan so they stick together.
  * Buckling—a form of hot-smoked herring. The head and guts are removed, but the roe and milt remain.
  * Caerphilly cheese—a hard white cheese made from cow’s milk.
  * Carrot cake
  * Cauliflower cheese—a dish consisting of pieces of cauliflower lightly boiled and covered with a milk-based cheese sauce, for which a strong cheese tends to be preferred. Mustard and nutmeg may also be used.
  * Cawl—a stew with lamb and leeks.
  * Cider—both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.
  * Coddle—a dish consisting of layers of roughly sliced pork sausages and rashers (thinly slice, somewhat fatty back bacon) with sliced potatoes and onions. It can also include barley.
  * Colcannon—a dish consisting of mashed potatoes mixed with kale or cabbage.
  * Crempog—a pancake made with self-raising flour, salt, eggs, milk and salted butter. A popular birthday food.
  * Crubeens—boiled pig’s feet.
  * Cullen skink—a thick soup made of smoked haddock, potatoes and onions.
  * Dampfnudel—a sort of white bread or sweet bread roll, eaten both with a meal and as a dessert.
  * Devilled kidneys—a breakfast dish consisting of lamb’s kidneys cooked in a spiced sauce.
  * Eccles cake—a small, round cake filled with currants and made from flaky pastry with butter, sometimes topped with sugar.
  * Egg and chips—a popular working-class dish, consisting of chips (fried potato chips; by American standards, French fries) served with fried eggs.
  * Egg salad
  * Fish and chips—a fast food dish of battered fish and deep-fried chips (French fries)
  * Fishcake—a filleted fish and potato patty sometimes coated in breadcrumbs or batter, and fried.
  * Fried bread—bread which after being sliced and fried is served as part of a meal.
  * Fruitcake
  * Ginger wine—a fortified wine made from a fermented blend of ground ginger and raisins.
  * Glamorgan sausage—a vegetarian sausage, the main ingredients of which are cheese, leeks and breadcrumbs.
  * Goulash—a stew of meat, noodles and vegetables (particularly potato), seasoned with paprika and other spices.
  * Haggis—a savory pudding containing sheep’s pluck (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices and salt, mixed with stock, and encased in the sheep’s stomach and simmered for approximately three hours.
  * Hasenpfeffer—a stew made from marinated rabbit or hare, braised with onions and wine in a marinade thickened with the animal’s blood. Seasonings typically include salt, onions, garlic, lemon, thyme, rosemary, allspice, juniper berries, cloves and bay leaves.
  * Hash—a dish consisting of diced meat, potatoes and spices that are then gathered and cooked together, either alone or with onions.
  * Head cheese—not actually a cheese; is actually a cold cut meat jelly made with flesh from the head of a cow or pig; spiced with onion, black pepper, salt, allspice or vinegar
  * Jellied eels—chopped eels boiled in a spiced stock that is allowed to cool and set, forming a jelly; can be eaten hot or cold.
  * Jenever—a juniper-flavored, strongly alcoholic liquor
  * Kipper—a whole herring, a small, oily fish, that has been split, gutted, salted or pickled, and cold smoked; eaten for breakfast.
  * Leek soup—a soup made of potatoes, leeks, chicken broth and heavy cream.
  * Pichelsteiner—a stew containing several types of meat and vegetables; seasoned with onion and garlic
  * Porridge
  * Potato bread—a form of bread in which potato replaces a portion of the regular wheat flour.
  * Potato pancakes
  * Potato salad
  * Pound cake
  * Sauerbraten—a pot roast (generally of beef, but other meats can be used as well), marinated before cooking in vinegar, water, spices and seasonings.
  * Sauerkraut—finely cut cabbage fermented by various lactic acid bacteria.
  * Sausage
  * Schuxen—an elongated fried dough pastry made from rye flour and yeast.
  * Scone—a wedge of bannock bread, often eaten with clotted cream or a sort of jam.
  * Scouse—a lamb or beef stew. Vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and onions are added.
  * Shepherd’s pie—a meat pie with a crust of mashed potato
  * Skirlie—a dish made from oatmeal fried with fat, onions and seasonings.
  * Skirts and kidneys—a stew made from pork and pig’s kidneys.
  * Soda bread—a type of quick bread in which baking soda is used as a leavening agent instead of yeast.
  * Spiced beef—a cured and salted joint of rump or silverside beef.
  * Strudel—a type of layered pastry with a sweet filling inside; popular fillings include apple, plum, milk cream and cherries.
  * Suckling Pig
  * Summer pudding—a dessert made of sliced white bread, layered in a deep bowl with fruit and fruit juice. The contents of the bowl are left to soak overnight. It’s much easier to make if the bread is somewhat stale. Popular fruit to make it with include: strawberries, raspberries, black and redcurrants, and blackberries.
  * Syllabub—a dessert made from rich milk or cream seasoned with sugar and lightly curdled with wine.
  * Tatws pum munud—a stew made with smoked bacon, stock, potatoes and other vegetables; all the ingredients are cut into slices, so as to lie flat.
  * Tea
  * Teacake—a light yeast-based sweet bun containing dried fruit, typically toasted and buttered, served with tea.
  * Tilsit cheese—a light yellow, semi-hard smear-ripened cheese.
  * Trifle—a dessert made from thick custard, fruit, sponge cake, fruit juice and whipped cream, arranged in layers.
  * Various fruit pies (rhubarb, apple, strawberry and rhubarb, and so on)
  * Veda—a malted bread. A small, caramel-colored loaf with a very soft consistency when fresh.
  * White pudding—a sausage similar to black pudding, except it’s made of fat instead of blood.
  * Zeeuwse bolus—a sweet pastry made by baking dough in a spiral shape and covering it with treacle and cinnamon; the flatter underside is covered with butter.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Hi no Kuni**

  * Akashiyaki—small, round dumplings made of an egg-rich batter and octopus dipped into dashi (a thin fish broth) before eating.
  * Anmitsu—a dessert made of small cubes of agar jelly; served in a bowl with red bean paste boiled peas, and a variety of fruit; usually comes with a small pot of sweet black syrup, which one pours on the jelly before eating.
  * Anpan—sweet roll filled with red bean paste
  * Butadon—“pork bowl”; a dish consisting of a bowl of rice topped with pork simmered in a mildly sweet sauce. It’s often sprinkled with green peas.
  * Curry bread—deep friend bread filled with curry sauce; can also be filled with sesame or chestnuts
  * Dango—a dumpling made from rice flour, and is often served with green tea. Dango is eaten year-round, but seasonal varieties exist.
  * Gyoza—boiled, steamed or pan-fried dumplings, filled with pork, beef, chicken, fish, shrimp, cabbage, scallion, leek or garlic chives, or some combination of the ingredients.
  * Katsudon—a bowl of rice topped with tonkatsu, egg and condiments.
  * Mochi—a rice cake made out of glutinous, waxy, sweet or mochi rice. The rice is pounded into paste and moulded into a desired shape.
  * Namasu—a dish of thinly sliced uncooked vegetables and seafood, marinated in rice vinegar for several hours, pickling them slightly.
  * Natto—soybeans fermented with Bacillus subtilis (A bacteria harmless to all those but the most immunocompromised). It has a powerful smell, strong flavor, and slimy texture. It’s considered an acquired taste, and is popular as a breakfast food.
  * Sake—a fermented rice wine (Though in actuality, it has more in common with beer).
  * Sashimi—very fresh raw meat or fish sliced into thin pieces.
  * Sushi—a food consisting of vinegared rice combined with other ingredients, such as raw fish or other seafood.
  * Tekkadon—a rice dish topped with thin-sliced raw tuna or salmon sashimi.
  * Umeshu—a liqueur made from steeping ume in alcohol and sugar. It has a sweet, sour taste, and an alcohol content of 10-15%.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kaze no Kuni**

  * Akkawi cheese—a white brine cheese, made from goat’s or sheep’s milk. It is a soft cheese with a smooth texture and a mild salty taste. It is typically served either by itself or with fruit.
  * Arak—a highly alcoholic drink; it is clear, colorless, and flavored with anise.
  * Asida—a cooked wheat flour lump of dough, served with butter or honey.
  * Ayran—cold yogurt beverage mixed with cold water and sometimes with salt.
  * Baklava—a rich, sweet pastry, made of layers of phyllo dough filled with chopped nuts (typically walnuts or pistachios) and sweetened with syrup or honey. It is served cold, at room temperature or re-warmed.
  * Baladi cheese—a soft, white cheese with a mild yet rich flavor.
  * Basbousa—a dessert; a sweet cake made of semolina and soaked in syrup. Often served with pistachios or almonds.
  * Basundi—a dessert made by boiling milk on low heat until the milk is reduced by half; heavy cream may be added to hasten the thickening process. Once reduced, sugar, cardamom and saffron is added. It is garnished with almond and pistachio slices.
  * Bichak—a stuffed baked tri-cornered appetizer served during tea or coffee hour. It can be filled with jam for a sweet taste, or meat and cheese for a savory taste.
  * Borek—a fried phyllo pastry that can be stuffed with cheese (usually feta), minced meat or vegetables.
  * Boukha—a distilled beverage produced from figs.
  * Briouat—a sweet puff pastry, filled with chicken or lamb mixed with cheese, lemon and pepper. They are wrapped in warqa (a paper-thin dough) in a triangular or cylinder shape, and are then fried or baked, sprinkled with herbs, spices, and sometimes with powdered sugar.
  * Chass—buttermilk. It is made from the reside liquid leftover after making butter, but can also be made using yogurt or curd. Water, salt, cumin and sometimes sugar are added for taste. Sometimes rose flavor is added as well.
  * Coffee
  * Couscous—a dish of semolina, cooked by steaming.
  * Curry
  * Dolma—grape leaves stuffed with vegetables such as tomatoes, onions or eggplant.
  * Falafel—a deep-fried ball made from chickpeas, fava beans, or both.
  * Gheimeh—a stew consisting of cubed lamb, crushed chickpeas, tomatoes, onion, and dried lime. It is garnished with eggplant and served with rice.
  * Hummus—a cold or warm dip made of cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and garlic.
  * Jameed—hard, dry yogurt made from goat milk fashioned into balls; salt is added to thicken it even further.
  * Kanafeh—a cheese pastry soaked in sweet syrup
  * Kebabs—a wide variety of skewered meat; analogous to yakitori
  * Kesme—a noodle dish; egg noodles are boiled in a broth containing ingredients such as potatoes, meat, carrots, peppers and tomatoes.
  * Kibbeh nayyeh—a dish consisting of minced raw lamb mixed with fine bulgur and spices. It’s often served with mint leaves and olive oil, green peppers and scallions. Sometimes a sauce of garlic or olive oil is served.
  * Kichadi—a dish made out of cucumber and curd in raw or cooked form.
  * Kofta—balls of minced or ground goat/lamb meat, mixed with spices.
  * Kousa Mahshi—also known as stuffed marrows; squash stuffed with rice and meat; may be flavored with mint or garlic.
  * Mansaf—a dish made of lamb cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yogurt and served with rice.
  * Mattha—a spiced buttermilk beverage. It is spiced with mint, cumin, curry leaves, salt and sugar. Mattha is typically served before or after a meal, but can be drank with a meal, and is believed to aid in digestion.
  * Qotab—a deep-fried, almond-filled cake, prepared with flour, almonds, powdered sugar and vegetable oil.
  * Quzi—a rice based dish, served with slow-cooked lamb and roasted nuts
  * Sangak—a plain, rectangular, or triangular whole wheat sourdough flatbread. May be topped with poppy seeds or sesame seeds, but is often served plain.
  * Tabbouleh—a salad made of couscous, tomatoes, parsley, mint, onion and garlic, and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice and salt.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kaminari no Kuni**

  * Akvavit—a spirit flavored with spices and herbs; the main spice should be caraway or dill. It is 40% alcoholic.
  * Alexandertorte—a dessert consisting of pastry strips filled with raspberry preserves or raspberry jam. It’s typically eaten as a lunch or dinner dessert, but can also be served at tea.
  * Angel wings—a sweet crisp pastry made out of dough that has been shaped into thin twisted ribbons, deep-fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar.
  * Apple wine
  * Babka—a sweet yeast cake. It is spongy and has no filling, but is glazed with a vanilla- or chocolate-flavored icing, and decorated with almonds or candied fruit, sometimes with rum added.
  * Bigos—a hunter’s stew. Typical ingredients include white cabbage, sauerkraut, various cuts of meat and sausage, whole or pureed tomatoes, honey and mushrooms. It may be seasoned with pepper, caraway, juniper berries, bay leaves, marjoram, pimento, dried or smoked plums, and other seasonings. It is usually eaten with mashed potatoes or rye bread.
  * Blintz—a thin, unleavened buckwheat pancake. They may be made plain, or with ingredients such as grated potato, apples or raisins. They may be covered with butter, sour cream, jam, honey or caviar, and then rolled into a crepe. They may be made with a filling of jam, fruit, potato, cottage cheese, cooked ground meat, cooked chicken, chopped mushrooms, bean sprouts, cabbage or onions.
  * Brunost—a caramelized brown whey cheese.
  * Cepelinai—a dumpling made from grated potatoes and typically stuffed with minced meat, although sometimes dry cottage cheese or mushrooms are used instead.
  * Coulibiac—a fish loaf made of salmon or sturgeon, rice, hard-boiled eggs, mushrooms and dill, baked in a pastry shell.
  * Gamalost—a pungent cheese that can be stored for long periods without refrigeration.
  * Goulash—a stew of meat, noodles and vegetables (particularly potato), seasoned with paprika and other spices.
  * Gravlax—raw salmon cured in salt, sugar and dill.
  * Grinzola—a cow’s milk blue cheese, with a mild flavor.
  * Grjupan—sheep’s lungs, smoked with added salt and water.
  * Hakarl—fermented shark; hung to dry for four to five months; has an ammonia-rich smell and a fishy taste.
  * Hallongrotta—“thumb print cookies”. A small, round vanilla cookie with a depression in the middle that’s filled with raspberry jam.
  * Kissel—a fruit dessert soup, made of sweetened juice, thickened with potato starch; can be served hot or cold.
  * Kladdkaka—“chocolate mud cake”. An unleavened, chocolate-flavored sponge cake with a soft, viscous, gooey center. It’s sometimes eaten with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
  * Kleina—a fried pastry. Flattened dough is cut into small trapezoids. A slit is cut in the middle, and then one end pulled through the slit to form a knot. The dough is then deep-fried in oil, traditionally tallow.
  * Krumkake—a waffle cookie made of flour, butter, eggs, sugar and cream. It is made in a special decorative two-sided iron griddle. While still hot, the krumkakes are rolled into small cones around a wooden or plastic cone to gain a cone shape. They can be eaten plain, or with fillings such as whipped cream or other fillings. They are sometimes dusted with powdered sugar.
  * Krupnik—a sweet alcoholic drink similar to a liqueur, based on grain spirit and honey.
  * Kvass—a fermented beverage made from black or regular rye bread; often flavored with strawberries.
  * Lohikeitto—a soup made of salmon fillets, boiled potatoes, leeks, and dill; sometimes made with milk.
  * Lutefisk—a dish made from aged stockfish or dried/salted whitefish and lye. It’s gelatinous, and has an extremely strong, pungent odor.
  * Midus—a mead, distilled from grain, honey and water.
  * Nettle soup—a soup made from stinging nettles; mainly eaten during spring and early summer, when young nettle buds are collected.
  * Palt—dumplings made of unboiled potatoes, filled with pork.
  * Pantaga—a dish containing eggs and spices. Egg whites and yolks are beaten in a pan with spices, producing a form of scrambled eggs.
  * Pea soup
  * Pickled eggs—hard-boiled eggs cured in brine.
  * Pierogi—dumplings of unleavened dough, stuffed with potato filling, ground meat, cheese, or fruit.
  * Rosehip soup—a fruit soup made with rosehip, milk, cream and sweet dumplings; served hot during the winter.
  * Rum ball—a truffle-like confection, being sweet, dense balls flavored with chocolate and rum.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kusa no Kuni**

  * Cakcak—a sweet made from unleavened dough cut and rolled into hazelnut-sized balls, which are then deep-fried in oil. Hazelnuts or dried fruits may be added to the mixture, or they might not be. The fried balls are stacked in a mound and drenched with hot honey. After cooling and hardening, the mound might be topped with hazelnuts or dried fruits. This is a popular dish at weddings.
  * Chacha—a clear, strong liquor made of grape pomace.
  * Chakapuli—a stew made of onion, lamb chops, dry white wine, tarragon leaves, plum sauce, mixed fresh herbs (parsley, mint, dill, cilantro), garlic and salt.
  * Chalap—a beverage consisting of yogurt and salt.
  * Dimlama—a stew made of a combination of meat, potatoes, onions, vegetables, and sometimes fruit.
  * Dovga—a yogurt soup cooked with a variety of herbs (coriander, dill and others) and rice. It’s served warm in winter or cold in summer.
  * Kaszanka—a blood sausage made of a mixture of pig’s blood, pig offal, and buckwheat kasza stuffed in a pig intestine. It’s usually flavored with onion, black pepper and marjoram.
  * Kharcho—a soup containing beef, rice, cherry plum puree, and chopped walnuts. It is usually served with finely chopped fresh coriander.
  * Khinkali—a dumpling filled with various fillings, mostly with spiced meat (usually beef and pork, sometimes lamb), greens, and onions. Mushrooms or cheese may be used in place of meat. They are eaten plain, or with black pepper. The khinkali is consumed by first sucking out the juices inside the dumpling, so it doesn’t burst. The top is tough and not meant to be eaten; it is usually left on the plate to keep track of how many someone has eaten.
  * Kumis—a fermented beverage made from mare’s milk.
  * Kupati—a pork sausage.
  * Matsoni—a fermented milk product similar to yogurt.
  * Momo—a type of dumpling that may have one of the following fillings: meat (usually chicken, goat or pork, minced; the meat may be combined with garlic, onion, ginger and coriander); vegetables (finely chopped cabbage or potato); or cheese.
  * Oghi—a spirit distilled from fruits or berries.
  * Parenica—a semi-hard, non-ripening, semi-fat, steamed and usually smoked cheese, creamy yellow in color, twisted into snail-like spirals.
  * Pogasca—a savory scone, sprinkled with either cheese, pork crackling, cabbage, black pepper, paprika, garlic, red onion, caraway seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds or poppy seeds.
  * Sujuk—a dry, spicy sausage consisting of ground meat (either beef or pork) with various spices such as cumin, sumac, garlic, salt and red pepper, fed into a sausage casing and allowed to dry for several weeks.
  * Sulguni—a pickled cheese with a sour, moderately salty flavor, a dimpled texture, and an elastic consistency.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Ame no Kuni**

  * Aloo chaat—potatoes fried in oil, with added spices and chutney. Served as a street food.
  * Chakna—a spicy stew made of goat tripe and other animal digestive parts.
  * Chiburekki—a fried turnover with a filling of ground or minced meat and onions.
  * Chicken tikka—small pieces of boneless chicken baked using skewers, in a tandoor, after marinating in spices and yogurt. The chicken is brushed with clarified butter at intervals. It is typically eaten with coriander and chutney, and is served alongside onion rings and lemon.
  * Churri—a spicy side dish made from yogurt and butter milk.
  * Falooda—a cold, sweet beverage. It is made by mixing rose syrup with basil seeds, jelly pieces and tapioca pearls with either milk, water or ice cream.
  * Piti—a soup made with mutton and vegetables (tomatoes, potatoes and chickpeas), infused with saffron water to add flavor, and cooked in a sealed crock.
  * Ras malai—a sweet dessert consisting of sugary white, cream or yellow-colored balls of paneer soaked in clotted cream, flavored with cardamom.
  * Talkhan—a sweet made from walnuts and mulberries. It resembles chocolate, but lighter and coarser.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Taki no Kuni**

  * Bai pong moan—fried eggs and white rice; the eggs are flavored with salt and soy sauce, and the rice with soy sauce. It’s a cheap dish, easy to prepare, on the same level as instant ramen.
  * Balut—fertilized duck embryo that is boiled and eaten in its shell
  * Banh bao—a ball-shaped dumpling consisting of pork or chicken, onion, eggs, mushrooms and vegetables.
  * Banh beo—a steamed rice cake. It is white in color and typically features a dimple in the middle in the center, which is filled with savory ingredients including chopped dried or fresh shrimp, scallions, mung bean paste, crispy fried shallots, fish sauce, rice vinegar and oil.
  * Banh re—a street food; sweet potatoes are made into a pancake, deep-fried, then sugared.
  * Bay chhar—fried rice, cooked with sausage, garlic, soy sauce and herbs, and often served with pork.
  * Bosna—a spicy fast food dish. It resembles a hot dog, consisting of a bratwurst sausage, onions, and a blend of mustard, tomato ketchup and curry powder. It’s made with white bread and usually grilled briefly before serving.
  * Bratwurst—a sausage usually composed of veal, pork or beef, usually grilled or pan-fried.
  * Bun cha—a grilled pork noodle soup; white rice noodles and grilled fatty pork in a steamy broth of fish sauce.
  * Century egg—a duck or chicken egg preserved from anywhere from several weeks to several months in a mixture of clay, salt, ash, quicklime, and rice hulls.
  * Chanh muoi—a salty limeade.
  * Chao tom—grilled shrimp paste on a sugarcane stick.
  * Eierpunsch—a warm, sweetened alcoholic drink made with egg yolks, sugar, white wine and vanilla. Sometimes cream or custard is added.
  * Esterhazy torte—a cake consisting of buttercream sandwiched between four to five layers of almond meringue.
  * Grass jelly—a jelly-like dessert, made by boiling the aged and slightly oxidized stalks and leaves of Mesona chinensis (a member of the mint family) with potassium carbonate for several hours with a little starch and then cooling the liquid to a jelly-like consistency. The jelly can be cut into cubes or other shapes, and then mixed with syrup to produce a drink or dessert thought to have cooling properties; as such, it is popular during the summer.
  * Kaeng som—a sour and spicy fish curry or soup with vegetables.
  * Kai yang—a street food. Barbecued roast chicken, halved and pounded flat, marinated and grilled over a low heat on a charcoal flame, but not cooked to be burnt or dry. The marinade typically includes fish sauce, garlic, turmeric, cilantro, and white pepper. Other common ingredients include lemongrass, lime, ginger, vinegar and chili.
  * Speck—a distinctly juniper-flavored ham.
  * Zemlovka—a sweet dish made of apples and kifli that are soaked in milk. A variant of this uses pears instead of apples. The milk is flavored with sugar, vanilla sugar, and ground cinnamon. It can be eaten both hot and cold.



**Special Notes**

  * The real life inspiration for Tsuchi no Kuni cuisine is the cuisine of Britain, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, and Germany.
  * Tsuchi has the most “cosmopolitan” food culture of the five major nations, as it is the most embracing of foreign food among the major nations and there is a great curiosity about foreign food in the nation.




	11. Kaminari no Kuni Cuisine

** Kaminari no Kuni Cuisine   
**

**Staples**

  * Barley
  * Fish
  * Millet
  * Pork
  * Potato
  * Rice
  * Rye
  * Turnip
  * Wheat



**Common Fruits and Vegetables**

  * Apples
  * Bilberry
  * Blackcurrant
  * Blueberries
  * Cabbage
  * Carrot
  * Cloudberries
  * Cucumber
  * Juniper berry
  * Leeks
  * Lingonberry
  * Onion
  * Parsnip
  * Pepper
  * Plum
  * Potato
  * Raspberry
  * Rosehip
  * Rutabaga
  * Strawberries
  * Tomato
  * Turnip



**Common Meat Sources**

  * Beef
  * Chicken
  * Duck
  * Elk
  * Freshwater fish
  * Goose
  * Moose
  * Mutton/Lamb
  * Pork
  * Puffin
  * Rabbit/Hare
  * Reindeer
  * Saltwater fish
  * Shellfish
  * Venison



**Common Nuts/Legumes/Seeds**

  * Caraway seeds
  * Hazelnut
  * Lentil
  * Lima bean
  * Pea
  * Snow pea
  * Walnut



**Common Spices**

  * Cardamom
  * Chervil
  * Dill
  * Garlic
  * Mustard
  * Parsley
  * Pepper
  * Salt
  * Tarragon



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Native to the Region**

  * Akvavit—a spirit flavored with spices and herbs; the main spice should be caraway or dill. It is 40% alcoholic.
  * Alexandertorte—a dessert consisting of pastry strips filled with raspberry preserves or raspberry jam. It’s typically eaten as a lunch or dinner dessert, but can also be served at tea.
  * Angel wings—a sweet crisp pastry made out of dough that has been shaped into thin twisted ribbons, deep-fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar.
  * Apple wine
  * Aspic—a dish in which ingredients are set into a gelatin made from a meat stock or consommé. Nearly any type of meat can be used in this dish.
  * Babka—a sweet yeast cake. It is spongy and has no filling, but is glazed with a vanilla- or chocolate-flavored icing, and decorated with almonds or candied fruit, sometimes with rum added.
  * Bigos—a hunter’s stew. Typical ingredients include white cabbage, sauerkraut, various cuts of meat and sausage, whole or pureed tomatoes, honey and mushrooms. It may be seasoned with pepper, caraway, juniper berries, bay leaves, marjoram, pimento, dried or smoked plums, and other seasonings. It is usually eaten with mashed potatoes or rye bread.
  * Blintz—a thin, unleavened buckwheat pancake. They may be made plain, or with ingredients such as grated potato, apples or raisins. They may be covered with butter, sour cream, jam, honey or caviar, and then rolled into a crepe. They may be made with a filling of jam, fruit, potato, cottage cheese, cooked ground meat, cooked chicken, chopped mushrooms, bean sprouts, cabbage or onions.
  * Brunost—a caramelized brown whey cheese.
  * Cepelinai—a dumpling made from grated potatoes and typically stuffed with minced meat, although sometimes dry cottage cheese or mushrooms are used instead.
  * Coulibiac—a fish loaf made of salmon or sturgeon, rice, hard-boiled eggs, mushrooms and dill, baked in a pastry shell.
  * Danbo—a semi-soft, aged cow’s milk cheese; common household cheese.
  * Flatkaka—an uleavened rye flatbread. Soft, round, thin, with a characteristic pattern from the pan.
  * Frikadeller—flat, pan-fried dumplings of minced meat. Typically made of minced pork, veal, or beef, chopped onions; eggs; milk (or water); bread crumbs; salt and pepper, and then formed into balls and flattened somewhat. They are then pan-fried in pork fat.
  * Gamalost—a pungent cheese that can be stored for long periods without refrigeration.
  * Goulash—a stew of meat, noodles and vegetables (particularly potato), seasoned with paprika and other spices.
  * Gravlax—raw salmon cured in salt, sugar and dill.
  * Grinzola—a cow’s milk blue cheese, with a mild flavor.
  * Grjupan—sheep’s lungs, smoked with added salt and water.
  * Hakarl—fermented shark; hung to dry for four to five months; has an ammonia-rich smell and a fishy taste.
  * Hallongrotta—“thumb print cookies”. A small, round vanilla cookie with a depression in the middle that’s filled with raspberry jam.
  * Helmipuuro—a porridge made of grains of potato starch that are swelled in boiling milk. Can be eaten plainly or with butter, kissel, berries, jam or sugar.
  * Julskinska—cured ham, boiled and breaded with mustard, bread crumbs and egg.
  * Kalakukko—a dish made of a fish baked inside a loaf of bread.
  * Kalduny—a stuffed dumpling made of unleavened dough, filled with meat, mushrooms or other fillings.
  * Kissel—a fruit dessert soup, made of sweetened juice, thickened with potato starch; can be served hot or cold.
  * Kladdkaka—“chocolate mud cake”. An unleavened, chocolate-flavored sponge cake with a soft, viscous, gooey center. It’s sometimes eaten with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
  * Kleina—a fried pastry. Flattened dough is cut into small trapezoids. A slit is cut in the middle, and then one end pulled through the slit to form a knot. The dough is then deep-fried in oil, traditionally tallow.
  * Knedle—a fruit-filled dumpling made from potato dough.
  * Knish—a baked or fried potato dumpling made of flaky dough.
  * Kottsoppa—a clear meat and root vegetable soup. The meat, and the bones supplying the broth, is beef, or sometimes pork, reindeer or elk. The root vegetables commonly include carrot, potato, celery, parsnip and turnip. Leeks, peppercorns and bay leaves are often added for seasoning. The meat and vegetables are cut to dice-shaped pieces and boiled soft.
  * Krotekake—a whole-wheat flatbread.
  * Krumkake—a waffle cookie made of flour, butter, eggs, sugar and cream. It is made in a special decorative two-sided iron griddle. While still hot, the krumkakes are rolled into small cones around a wooden or plastic cone to gain a cone shape. They can be eaten plain, or with fillings such as whipped cream or other fillings. They are sometimes dusted with powdered sugar.
  * Krupnik—a sweet alcoholic drink similar to a liqueur, based on grain spirit and honey.
  * Kvass—a fermented beverage made from black or regular rye bread; often flavored with strawberries.
  * Kugelis—a baked potato pudding, the main ingredients of which are potatoes, bacon, milk, onion and eggs. It may be spiced with salt, black pepper, bay leaves, and/or marjoram. Usually eaten with apple sauce, lingonberry preserve, sour cream or crumbled fried fat.
  * Lefse—a soft flatbread made out of potato, milk or cream, and flour. It is cooked on a griddle.
  * Lingonberry jam—used to give freshness to any number of dishes.
  * Lohikeitto—a soup made of salmon fillets, boiled potatoes, leeks, and dill; sometimes made with milk.
  * Lutefisk—a dish made from aged stockfish or dried/salted whitefish and lye. It’s gelatinous, and has an extremely strong, pungent odor.
  * Midus—a mead, distilled from grain, honey and water.
  * Multekrem—a dessert made by mixing cloudberries with whipped cream and sugar. It can be served at room temperature or hot.
  * Mykyrokka—a soup made of a palm-sized dumpling made from blood and barley flour. The dumplings are cooked in the soup, which also contains potatoes, onions, fatty meat, and offal.
  * Nettle soup—a soup made from stinging nettles; mainly eaten during spring and early summer, when young nettle buds are collected.
  * Palt—dumplings made of unboiled potatoes, filled with pork.
  * Pantaga—a dish containing eggs and spices. Egg whites and yolks are beaten in a pan with spices, producing a form of scrambled eggs.
  * Pea soup
  * Pickled eggs—hard-boiled eggs cured in brine.
  * Pickled herring—a dish that is prepared with two steps: 1) the herring is cured with salt to extract water; 2) the salt is removed and the herring is pickled in a vinegar, sugar and salt solution.
  * Pierogi—dumplings of unleavened dough, stuffed with potato filling, ground meat, cheese, or fruit.
  * Pirozhki—a baked or fried bun filled with a variety of fillings, such as meat, mushroom, rice and onion.
  * Porridge
  * Pulla—sweet bread flavored with crushed cardamom seeds; can be served with cinnamon sugar.
  * Pultost—a soft, mature sour milk cheese flavored with caraway seeds.
  * Pyttipanna—a hodgepodge of food. Usually consists of potatoes, onions, any kind of meat or sausage, which are diced and then pan-fried. This is served with a fried egg, pickled diced beetroot, sour pickled gherkin, and capers.
  * Rakfisk—trout that has been salted and fermented for two to three months, and then served without further preparation; must be prepared and stored very carefully, to avoid contamination.
  * Rice pudding
  * Rollmops—pickled herring fillets rolled into a cylindrical shape, often around a savory filling.
  * Rosehip soup—a fruit soup made with rosehip, milk, cream and sweet dumplings; served hot during the winter.
  * Rum ball—a truffle-like confection, being sweet, dense balls flavored with chocolate and rum.
  * Rupjmaize—a dark bread made from rye.
  * Rusk—a hard, dry biscuit.
  * Sauerkraut—finely cut cabbage fermented by various lactic acid bacteria.
  * Sausage
  * Sautéed reindeer
  * Shashlik—lamb skewers.
  * Shchi—cabbage soup; also served with pickle water (required), carrots, parsley, dill, garlic, or pepper.
  * Skilandis—a type of sausage made of a pig’s stomach stuffed with salted, garlic-flavored minced meat and bacon. Then the sausage is smoked and dried, but not cold-smoked.
  * Sklandrausis—a sweet pie, made of rye dough and filled with potato and carrot paste, seasoned with caraway.
  * Skyr—a soft, yogurt-like cheese.
  * Slivovitz—a distilled beverage made from Damson plums, frequently referred to as plum brandy.
  * Smoked reindeer
  * Sodd—a soup with mutton and meatballs, with vegetables such as potatoes and carrots added. It’s often served at weddings.
  * Solyanka—a thick, spicy and sour soup containing pickled cucumbers; may also include ham, chicken, sour cream, fish, mushrooms, cabbage, tomatoes or dill.
  * Sorrel Soup—a soup made from broth, sorrel leaves and salt; other possible ingredients include hard-boiled whole eggs, potatoes, carrots, parsley root and rice.
  * Sour rye soup—a soup made of soured rye flour and meat, usually boiled pork sausage, bacon or ham.
  * Sultsina—a cross between a crepe and a flatbread, made of unleavened rye dough, a rice pudding filling.
  * Sushki—a traditional tea bread; small, crunchy, mildly sweet bread rings that can be eaten for dessert.
  * Syrniki—fried quark pancakes, garnished with sour cream, jam, honey or apple sauce.
  * Tea
  * Tybo—a cow’s milk cheese. Loaf-shaped, with a cream-colored, holey interior and a yellow rind. It has a slightly salty, smooth and lactic flavor. Sometimes flavored with caraway seeds.
  * Various pickled fruits and vegetables
  * Vatrushka—a pastry with a ring of dough and cottage cheese in the middle; the dough is typically sweet.
  * Viru valge—a vodka, with many different flavors, ranging from blackcurrant and lemon, and comes in three different degrees of alcohol content: 30%, 40% and 80%. The flavored varieties only come in 38%.
  * Vispipuuro—a sweet pink dessert porridge flavored with lingonberries or other berries, served with milk and sugar.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Tsuchi no Kuni**

  * Ale
  * Bacon and egg pie—a crisp pastry crust filled with bacon, egg, and, uncommonly, onion. Often has peas for color and a small amount of tomato.
  * Black pudding—a type of sausage made by cooking animal blood with a filler until it’s thick enough to congeal when cooled; pig, cow or sheep blood is the most common.
  * Brathering—a simple dish of fried, marinated herring.
  * Cawl—a stew with lamb and leeks.
  * Cider—both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.
  * Jenever—a juniper-flavored, strongly alcoholic liquor
  * Sauerbraten—a pot roast (generally of beef, but other meats can be used as well), marinated before cooking in vinegar, water, spices and seasonings.
  * White pudding—a sausage similar to black pudding, except it’s made of fat instead of blood.
  * Zeeuwse bolus—a sweet pastry made by baking dough in a spiral shape and covering it with treacle and cinnamon; the flatter underside is covered with butter.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Yu no Kuni**

  * Cesnovka—a spicy pork sausage with a garlic taste.
  * Cevapi—a dish of grilled minced meat in a flatbread, often with onions, sour cream, clotted cream, relish, cottage cheese, minced red pepper and salt.
  * Debrecener—a pork sausage of uniform fine texture and reddish-orange color, heavily spiced with paprika, garlic, pepper and marjoram.
  * Fisherman’s soup—a hot, spicy paprika-based river fish soup, made with carp and other freshwater fish, red onions, green peppers, tomatoes and salt.
  * Pelinkovac—a bitter liqueur based on wormwood.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Shimo no Kuni**

  * Bob chorba—a bean soup made from dry beans, onions, tomatoes, spearmint and carrots.
  * Boza—a fermented beverage made from millet with a thick consistency and a low alcohol content, and has a slightly acidic sweet color.
  * Kapusniak—a filling vegetable soup of sauerkraut white cabbage.
  * Kielbasa—a smoked sausage, often made of pork, often used in soups.
  * Liverwurst—liver sausage.
  * Varenyky—a dumpling made of unleavened dough, stuffed with sauerkraut, cheese, mashed potato, cabbage, meat, hard-boiled egg, or a combination of these, or a fruit filling.
  * Zrazy—a meat dish consisting of thin slices of beef fashioned into a rolled shape, flavored with salt and pepper, stuffed with vegetables, mushroom, egg and potato, and fried in oil for a short period of time.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Hi no Kuni**

  * Chukadon—a popular fast food dish, consisting of a bowl of rice with stir-fried vegetables, onions, mushrooms, and thin slices of meat on top.
  * Dango—a dumpling made from rice flour, and is often served with green tea. Dango is eaten year-round, but seasonal varieties exist.
  * Gyoza—boiled, steamed or pan-fried dumplings, filled with pork, beef, chicken, fish, shrimp, cabbage, scallion, leek or garlic chives, or some combination of the ingredients.
  * Hayashi rice—beef and onions stewed in a red-wine sauce and served on rice.
  * Kushikatsu—skewered meat, vegetables or seafood, breaded and deep-fried
  * Pocky—a snack-food, consisting of biscuit-sticks half-covered in some sort of glaze: chocolate, strawberry, grape, azuki bean, caramel, milk tea, cream cheese, berry, sweet potato, coconut, pineapple, pumpkin, hazelnut, blueberry, green tea, apple, honey, milk, or some other glaze.
  * Taiyaki—a fish-shaped cake, made of pancake batter, and filled with red bean paste, custard, cheese, chocolate, okonomiyaki, gyoza filling, or sausage (The latter three being the least common).



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kaze no Kuni**

  * Coffee



**Special Notes**

  * The real life inspiration for Kaminari no Kuni cuisine is the cuisine of the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), Scandinavia, Finland, Iceland, Poland and Russia.




	12. Tetsu no Kuni Cuisine

** Tetsu no Kuni (The Land of Iron) Cuisine   
**

**Staples**

  * Barley
  * Beef
  * Egg noodles
  * Goat
  * Mutton/Lamb
  * Potatoes
  * Rice
  * Soybeans
  * Wheat



**Common Fruits and Vegetables**

  * Actinidia chinensis (a fruit tree; medicinal fruit)
  * Apple
  * Apricot
  * Asparagus
  * Beet
  * Blackberry
  * Cabbage
  * Carrot
  * Citron
  * Cucumber
  * Garlic
  * Grape
  * Jujube
  * Juniper berries
  * Kiwi
  * Leek
  * Lemon
  * Lime
  * Mandarin orange
  * Olive
  * Onion
  * Peach
  * Pepper
  * Persimmon
  * Potato
  * Radish
  * Rhubarb
  * Scallion
  * Spinach
  * Sweet potato
  * Tomato
  * Turnip
  * Ume
  * Zucchini



**Common Meat Sources**

  * Beef
  * Boar
  * Chicken
  * Duck
  * Freshwater Fish
  * Goat
  * Goose
  * Mutton/Lamb
  * Ox
  * Partridge
  * Pheasant
  * Pigeon
  * Pork
  * Quail
  * Rabbit/Hare
  * Venison



**Common Nuts/Legumes/Seeds**

  * Almond
  * Azuki bean
  * Black bean
  * Black-eyed Pea
  * Chestnut
  * Green Bean
  * Hazelnut
  * Okra
  * Pea
  * Peanut
  * Poppy seed
  * Sesame seed
  * Snow pea
  * Soybean
  * Walnut



**Common Spices**

  * Allspice
  * Anise
  * Black Pepper
  * Coriander
  * Cress
  * Dill
  * Garlic
  * Ginger
  * Mint
  * Mustard
  * Nutmeg
  * Oregano
  * Paprika
  * Parsley
  * Red Pepper
  * Rosemary
  * Salt
  * Sesame
  * Scallion
  * Thyme



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Native to the Region**

  * Bai Mudan—a white tea with a stronger flavor and greater potency than Baihao Yinzhen.
  * Baihao Yinzhen—aka White Hair Silver Needle; a white tea.
  * Bak kut teh—a soup consisting of meaty pork ribs simmered in a complex broth of herbs and spices for hours.
  * Barley gruel—a dish made from barley, rice and dietary alkali.
  * Beggar’s chicken—chicken that is stuffed, wrapped and roasted.
  * Beopju—a rice liquor.
  * Bibimbap—a bowl of warm white rice topped with sautéed and seasoned vegetables and chili pepper paste. A raw or fried slice of egg and sliced meat (usually beef) are common additions. It can be eaten either hot or cold.
  * Bird’s nest soup—a soup made from the saliva nests of cave swifts.
  * Black sesame soup—a dessert soup or pudding. The main ingredient is crushed black sesame seeds in a flour form. It sometimes boiled, and sometimes, granulated sugar is added to further sweeten the soup. It’s served hot.
  * Boortsog—fried dough served as biscuits or cookies.
  * Bulgogi—thinly sliced or shredded beef marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, sugar, scallions, and black pepper, cooked on a grill (sometimes at the table). Variations include pork and chicken.
  * Buuz—steamed dumplings filled with meat.
  * Cha siu bao—a barbecue pork-filled bun.
  * Chanochi—a pink rice cake.
  * Chaogan—a dish made from pork liver, pork intestine and starch, seasoned with garlic, vinegar and soy sauce. Traditionally served with buns.
  * Cheongju—a clear rice wine.
  * Choujiu—a fermented alcoholic beverage made from glutinous rice; it is very thick and has a milky white color.
  * Chrysanthemum tea
  * Cumian—thick wheat noodles.
  * Daechucha—a tea made with dried jujubes.
  * Dak galbi—a dish generally made by stir-frying marinated diced chicken in a chili pepper paste based sauce, and sliced cabbage, sweet potato, scallions, onions, and rice cakes together on a hot plate.
  * Dianhong—a black tea; brew is a brassy orange in color, has a sweet, gentle aroma and no astringency to its taste.
  * Douhua—tofu pudding; a dessert made with very soft tofu, sugar, and bean curd jelly.
  * Duftwein—a wine produced from white wine, possibly sugar, and osmanthus flower flavoring.
  * Egg drop soup—a soup of wispy beaten eggs in boiled chicken broth, with pepper, scallions and tofu added.
  * Fuqi feipian—a dish made of thinly sliced beef and beef offal, served cold or at room temperature. Common ingredients include beef heart, tongue and tripe, and a generous amount of spices.
  * Gaifan—a fast food dish, consisting of rice and fish, meat, vegetables or other ingredients, served on a plate or in a bowl.
  * Gamjatang—a spicy soup made with pork spines or ribs, vegetables, green onion, hot pepper, and ground wild sesame.
  * Gamju—an alcoholic beverage made from rice fermented with yeast-cake.
  * Ginger milk curd—a hot dessert made with ginger, milk and sugar.
  * Gomguk—a soup made with various beef parts such as ribs, oxtail, brisket, ox’s head or ox bones by slow simmering on a low flame. The broth tends to have a milky color with a rich and hearty taste.
  * Gopchang—grilled cow or pig intestines.
  * Gyeran jjim—steamed egg casserole.
  * Haejangguk—a type of soup consumed as a purported hangover cure. It consists of cabbage, congealed ox blood and vegetables in a beef broth.
  * Hodugwaja—a cookie made by putting in a mixture of pounded walnuts with red bean paste in dough and baking.
  * Hongshao rou—a pork dish, cooked using pork belly and a combination of ginger, garlic, aromatic spices, chili peppers, sugar, light and dark soy, and rice wine. The pork belly is cooked until the fat and skin are gelatinous and melt easily in the mouth, while the sauce is usually thick, sweet and fairly sticky.
  * Hoppang—a hot snack, consisting of a pre-cooked ball of rice flour filled with something such as red bean paste.
  * Hotteok—a snack food; a pancake filled with a mixture made of brown sugar, honey, chopped peanuts and cinnamon.
  * Insamcha—a tea made with ginseng, pine nuts and honey. It has a strong fragrance and taste.
  * Jaecheopguk—a clear soup made with small freshwater clams.
  * Jalfrezi—a type of curry in which marinated pieces of meat or vegetables are fried in oil and spices to produce a dry, thick sauce.
  * Jangajji—a pickle made by pickling or marinating vegetables in a sauce for long periods of time.
  * Janggukjuk—a juk made with pounded non-glutinous rice, beef and brown oak mushrooms, seasoned with soy sauce. It’s high in protein and believed to be good for recovering patients and the elderly.
  * Japchae—a dish made from sweet potato noodles, stir fried in sesame oil with various vegetables (generally thinly sliced carrots, onions, spinach and mushrooms), sometimes served with beef, flavored with soy sauce, and sweetened with sugar. It is usually garnished with sesame seeds and thin slivers of chili. It may be served hot or cold.
  * Jasmine tea
  * Jatjuk—a juk made with boiled, finely ground pine nuts and rice flour and soaked rice in water, seasoned with salt and garnished with pine nuts and sliced jujubes. It’s prized for its rich and creamy taste, nutritiousness and easy digestibility, but is something of a luxury food, given that pine nuts are not readily available.
  * Jehotang—a cold tea made with honey and several traditional medicinal ingredients.
  * Jeok—a kind of grilled meat on skewers; analogous to kebabs and yakitori.
  * Jian dui—a fried pastry made from glutinous rice flour. The pastry is coated with sesame seeds and is crisp and chewy. Inside the pastry is a large hollow. This hollow may be filled with lotus paste or sweet black bean paste.
  * Jiaozi—pot-stickers.
  * Jiuniang—a sweet, soup or pudding-like dish made of fermented glutinous rice. It’s served hot.
  * Jokbal—pigs’ feet cooked with soy sauce and spices.
  * Juk—a porridge made of grains such as cooked rice, beans, sesame and azuki beans.
  * Kaoliang—a strong distilled liquor, made from fermented sorghum.
  * Kattama—a fried, layered bread.
  * Khuushuur—a meat pastry or dumpling. The meat, either beef or mutton, is ground and mixed with onion, salt and other spices. The mixture is placed inside a pouch of dough, and is then deep-fried in mutton fat.
  * Kimchi—vegetables (usually cabbage, white radish, or cucumber) commonly fermented in a brine of ginger, garlic, green onion and chilli pepper.
  * Kkultarae—a dessert made out of fine strands of honey and maltose, often with a sweet nut filling.
  * Kongbap—a dish consisting of white or brown rice cooked together with one or more type of beans (and sometimes also other grains).
  * Kumis—a fermented dairy product made from mare’s milk.
  * Laobing—an unleavened flatbread.
  * Mahua—a sweet street food; a dough twist fried in peanut oil, that has a golden look to it.
  * Mandu—a dumpling usually filled with minced meat, tofu, green onions, garlic and ginger. They are served with kimchi and chili-speckled soy sauce.
  * Memiljeon—a pancake made with buckwheat and kimchi.
  * Mieum—a gruel made by grinding rice or millet to an almost-powder state and boiling with water. It’s usually given to patients who can’t swallow easily, or to babies. Jujubes, ginseng and dried shelled chestnuts are usually used as ingredients as well.
  * Mijiu—rice wine; 12-20% alcohol content; generally clear and somewhat sweet; drunk warm.
  * Misua—a very thin variety of salted wheat flour noodles. It is typically served topped with egg, pig’s intestines, shiitake mushrooms, beef, shallots or scallions, and roasted nuts.
  * Ogwacha—a tea made with walnuts, chestnuts, Gingko seeds, jujubes, dried persimmon and ginger. It’s considered a good remedy for the flu.
  * Oritang—a stew made by slowly simmering duck and vegetables.
  * Oxtail soup—soup made of beef tails.
  * Pao cai—pickled cabbage; often eaten as a breakfast food. Is often sweet or sour.
  * Pamirdina—a lamb, carrot and onion pie.
  * Red bean soup—a dessert soup made with azuki beans; served cold in the summer and hot in the winter.
  * Rice pudding
  * Roast goose
  * Rubing—a firm, fresh goat milk cheese.
  * Rushan—a cow’s milk cheese. When served grilled (as a street food), it’s usually spread with various sweet condiments and rolled around a stick. Some of the popular toppings include sweetened condensed milk, rose petal-infused honey, chocolate syrup and fruit preserves. If it’s served deep-fried, the texture changes and becomes somewhat flaky.
  * Salted duck egg—duck eggs soaked in brine.
  * Sikhye—a sweet rice beverage, usually served as a dessert.
  * Suckling pig
  * Tanghulu—candied fruit on bamboo skewers, approximately 20 centimeters long; a street food.
  * Tarakjuk—a porridge made by boiling a mixture of milk and finely ground rice soaked in water.
  * Tea
  * Tofu—bean curd; made by coagulating soy juice and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks.
  * Yujacha—citron tea.
  * Zhangcha duck—a marinated duck smoked over tea leaves and twigs of the camphor plant.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Hi no Kuni**

  * Botamochi—a springtime treat made with sweet rice and red bean paste; the red bean paste is packed around a ball of rice.
  * Butadon—“pork bowl”; a dish consisting of a bowl of rice topped with pork simmered in a mildly sweet sauce. It’s often sprinkled with green peas.
  * Chadango—green-tea flavored dango.
  * Chukadon—a popular fast food dish, consisting of a bowl of rice with stir-fried vegetables, onions, mushrooms, and thin slices of meat on top.
  * Curry
  * Curry bread—deep friend bread filled with curry sauce; can also be filled with sesame or chestnuts
  * Dango—a dumpling made from rice flour, and is often served with green tea. Dango is eaten year-round, but seasonal varieties exist.
  * Dashi—a thin fish broth used in cooking.
  * Denpun dango—dango made from potato and baked with sweet boiled beans.
  * Donburi—a “rice bowl dish” consisting of fish, meat, vegetables and other ingredients simmered together and over rice.
  * Hayashi rice—beef and onions stewed in a red-wine sauce and served on rice.
  * Hiyashi chuka—a dish consisting of chilled ramen noodles with various toppings, including strips of egg, carrot, cucumber, ginger, ham, chicken, or barbecued pork. It is typically served in summer.
  * Imoni—a thick meat and potato soup traditionally eaten in the autumn.
  * Kibi dango—dango made with millet flour.
  * Kuri dango—dango covered in chestnut paste.
  * Miso soup—a soup consisting of dashi stock into which softened miso paste is mixed. Various ingredients may be added, including tofu, nori, scallions, mushrooms, potatoes, onion, shrimp, fish, and grated or sliced daikon.
  * Mitarashi dango—dango (dumplings) skewered onto sticks in groups of 3-5 and covered with a sweet soy sauce. Characterized by its glassy glaze and burnt fragrance.
  * Mochi—a rice cake made out of glutinous, waxy, sweet or mochi rice. The rice is pounded into paste and moulded into a desired shape.
  * Onigiri—rice balls, either ball- or triangle-shaped. They may be solid rice or filled with fillings such as: tuna with mayonnaise, shrimp with mayonnaise, roasted and crumbled mackerel, tempura, cutlets, umeboshi, squid, roe, salmon, or some other filling.
  * Sake—a fermented rice wine (Though in actuality, it has more in common with beer).
  * Tofu—bean curd; made by coagulating soy juice and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks.
  * Tonkatsu—deep-fried breaded cutlet of pork.
  * Umeboshi—picked ume plums
  * Umeshu—a liqueur made from steeping ume in alcohol and sugar. It has a sweet, sour taste, and an alcohol content of 10-15%.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kaze no Kuni**

  * Arak—a highly alcoholic drink; it is clear, colorless, and flavored with anise.
  * Asida—a cooked wheat flour lump of dough, served with butter or honey.
  * Ayran—cold yogurt beverage mixed with cold water and sometimes with salt.
  * Baklava—a rich, sweet pastry, made of layers of phyllo dough filled with chopped nuts (typically walnuts or pistachios) and sweetened with syrup or honey. It is served cold, at room temperature or re-warmed.
  * Coffee
  * Halva—a nougat of sesame with almonds.
  * Jameed—hard, dry yogurt made from goat milk fashioned into balls; salt is added to thicken it even further.
  * Kanafeh—a cheese pastry soaked in sweet syrup
  * Kofta—balls of minced or ground goat/lamb meat, mixed with spices.
  * Kousa Mahshi—also known as stuffed marrows; squash stuffed with rice and meat; may be flavored with mint or garlic.
  * Labeneh—strained yogurt
  * Tharid—piece of bread in vegetable or meat broth.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Tsuchi no Kuni**

  * Ale
  * Baumkuchen—a layered cake, resembling a large doughnut, and the layers resembling tree rings.
  * Black pudding—a type of sausage made by cooking animal blood with a filler until it’s thick enough to congeal when cooled; pig, cow or sheep blood is the most common.
  * Bread pudding—a dessert, served hot, usually made with stale bread, and some combination of the following ingredients: milk, egg, suet, sugar or syrup, dried fruit, and spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, mace or vanilla. It may be topped with whipped cream or some sauce such as whiskey sauce, rum sauce or caramel. Is usually sprinkled with sugar and eaten warm in squares or slices.
  * Bread soup—a soup consisting of stale bread in a meat or sausage broth; may add other elements such as onions, spices, egg or bacon
  * Cawl—a stew with lamb and leeks.
  * Cider—both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.
  * Coddle—a dish consisting of layers of roughly sliced pork sausages and rashers (thinly slice, somewhat fatty back bacon) with sliced potatoes and onions. It can also include barley
  * Sauerkraut—finely cut cabbage fermented by various lactic acid bacteria.
  * Suckling Pig
  * Summer pudding—a dessert made of sliced white bread, layered in a deep bowl with fruit and fruit juice. The contents of the bowl are left to soak overnight. It’s much easier to make if the bread is somewhat stale. Popular fruit to make it with include: strawberries, raspberries, black and redcurrants, and blackberries.
  * Teacake—a light yeast-based sweet bun containing dried fruit, typically toasted and buttered, served with tea.
  * White pudding—a sausage similar to black pudding, except it’s made of fat instead of blood.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kaminari no Kuni**

  * Apple wine
  * Babka—a sweet yeast cake. It is spongy and has no filling, but is glazed with a vanilla- or chocolate-flavored icing, and decorated with almonds or candied fruit, sometimes with rum added.
  * Bigos—a hunter’s stew. Typical ingredients include white cabbage, sauerkraut, various cuts of meat and sausage, whole or pureed tomatoes, honey and mushrooms. It may be seasoned with pepper, caraway, juniper berries, bay leaves, marjoram, pimento, dried or smoked plums, and other seasonings. It is usually eaten with mashed potatoes or rye bread.
  * Blintz—a thin, unleavened buckwheat pancake. They may be made plain, or with ingredients such as grated potato, apples or raisins. They may be covered with butter, sour cream, jam, honey or caviar, and then rolled into a crepe. They may be made with a filling of jam, fruit, potato, cottage cheese, cooked ground meat, cooked chicken, chopped mushrooms, bean sprouts, cabbage or onions.
  * Coulibiac—a fish loaf made of salmon or sturgeon, rice, hard-boiled eggs, mushrooms and dill, baked in a pastry shell.
  * Danbo—a semi-soft, aged cow’s milk cheese; common household cheese.
  * Flatkaka—an uleavened rye flatbread. Soft, round, thin, with a characteristic pattern from the pan.
  * Kissel—a fruit dessert soup, made of sweetened juice, thickened with potato starch; can be served hot or cold.
  * Kvass—a fermented beverage made from black or regular rye bread; often flavored with strawberries.
  * Pierogi—dumplings of unleavened dough, stuffed with potato filling, ground meat, cheese, or fruit.
  * Pirozhki—a baked or fried bun filled with a variety of fillings, such as meat, mushroom, rice and onion.
  * Porridge



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Mizu no Kuni**

  * Bakmi goreng—fried noodles served with egg, chicken or seafood, and thinly sliced carrots.
  * Bandung—a drink consisting of milk mixed with rose cordial syrup, giving it a pink color.
  * Bubur ayam—rice porridge served with soy sauce, spices, fried shallots, shredded chicken meat, and soybeans.
  * Chapati—a thin, unleavened flat bread.
  * Chwee kueh—a steamed rice cake, made by mixing rice flour and water together to form a slightly viscous mixture.
  * Dosa—a fermented crepe made from rice batter black lentils. Often eaten with breakfast or as a street food.
  * Kembang tahu—soft tofu pudding in sweet ginger and sugar syrup.
  * Ketupat—a packed rice dumpling
  * Kheer—a dessert; made by boiling rice with milk and sugar. Kheer is flavored with saffron, cashews, pistachios or almonds.
  * Lassi—a yogurt-based drink, made by blending yogurt with water and spices. Traditional, or salted lassi, is a savory drink flavored with ground roasted cumin; sweet lassi is blended with fruit instead.
  * Nasi kebuli—a spicy steamed rice dish cooked in goat broth, milk and ghee (clarified with butter).
  * Rousong—a dried meat product that has a light and fluffy texture similar to coarse cotton.
  * Samosa—a fried or baked pastry with a savory filling, such as spiced potatoes, onions, peas, lentils, and ground lamb or chicken.
  * Teh halia—ginger tea.
  * Teh tarik—a “pulled tea.” It’s sweetened using condensed milk. The tea is prepared by using outstretched hands to pour hot tea from a mug into a glass; the higher the “pull”, the thicker the froth. This also cools it down.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Ame no Kuni**

  * Chakna—a spicy stew made of goat tripe and other animal digestive parts.
  * Chalap—a beverage consisting of yogurt, salt and carbonated water.
  * Chiburekki—a fried turnover with a filling of ground or minced meat and onions.
  * Chicken tikka—small pieces of boneless chicken baked using skewers, in a tandoor, after marinating in spices and yogurt. The chicken is brushed with clarified butter at intervals. It is typically eaten with coriander and chutney, and is served alongside onion rings and lemon.
  * Churri—a spicy side dish made from yogurt and butter milk.
  * Kabuli pulao—a steamed rice dish mixed with lentils, carrots, raisins and lamb.
  * Kahwah—a green tea, made by boiling green tea leaves with saffron strands, cinnamon bark and cardamom pods. It is generally served with sugar or honey, and with crushed almonds or walnuts. It is traditionally prepared in a samovar.
  * Ras malai—a sweet dessert consisting of sugary white, cream or yellow-colored balls of paneer soaked in clotted cream, flavored with cardamom.
  * Roti—an unleavened flatbread made from stone-ground wholemeal flour.
  * Sher berinj—a rice pudding flavored with rosewater and chopped almonds. It is served chilled as a dessert.
  * Talkhan—a sweet made from walnuts and mulberries. It resembles chocolate, but lighter and coarser.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kusa no Kuni**

  * Cakcak—a sweet made from unleavened dough cut and rolled into hazelnut-sized balls, which are then deep-fried in oil. Hazelnuts or dried fruits may be added to the mixture, or they might not be. The fried balls are stacked in a mound and drenched with hot honey. After cooling and hardening, the mound might be topped with hazelnuts or dried fruits. This is a popular dish at weddings.
  * Chacha—a clear, strong liquor made of grape pomace.
  * Chegdermeh—a dish in which rice, mutton, tomato, onion, and oil is simultaneously cooked with water, with add-ons such as salt and pepper.
  * Choila—a dish consisting of spiced grilled meat, usually chicken or duck; it is eaten with beaten rice and is typically quite spicy.
  * Khachapuri—a filled bread dish. The bread is leavened and allowed to rise, and is shaped in various ways. The filling is made of cheese, egg, and other ingredients.
  * Sujuk—a dry, spicy sausage consisting of ground meat (either beef or pork) with various spices such as cumin, sumac, garlic, salt and red pepper, fed into a sausage casing and allowed to dry for several weeks.
  * Thukpa—a noodle soup, usually served with meat.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Taki no Kuni**

  * Banh bao—a ball-shaped dumpling consisting of pork or chicken, onion, eggs, mushrooms and vegetables.
  * Chanh muoi—a salty limeade.
  * Knodel—large round poached or boiled potato or bread dumplings, made without yeast, and usually served as a side dish.
  * Nam tok—a spicy soup enriched with raw cow or pig’s blood. It also includes noodles, bean sprouts, pieces of liver, pork, dumplings, green vegetables and spices. It has a rich, intense flavor.
  * Nuea phat phrik—a dish of beef fried with chili peppers and herbs.
  * Porkolt—a stew with boneless meat, paprika, some vegetables and no potato.
  * Youtiao—a long, golden-brown, deep-fried strip of dough that is usually eaten for breakfast with sweetened condensed milk.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kawa no Kuni**

  * Afelia—pork marinated and cooked in red wine with coarsely crushed coriander seed.
  * Fuet—a thin, cured, dry pork sausage in a pork gut casing.
  * Gajar ka halwa—a sweet dessert pudding. It is made by placing grated carrot in a jar containing water, milk and sugar, and then cooked, stirring regularly. It is often served with almonds. The nuts and other items used are first sautéed in clarified butter.
  * Kokoretsi—a dish consisting mainly of goat or lamb intestines, often wrapping seasoned offal, including sweetbreads, hearts, lungs or kidneys. The intestines of suckling lambs are preferred. They are seasoned with lemon, oregano, olive oil, salt and pepper. The meat is then skewered.
  * Lapa—a kind of rice gruel made of rice, water and salt, which has the consistency of a thick soup. It’s eaten with lemon juice as a cure for diarrhea.



**Special Notes**

  * The real life inspiration for Tetsu no Kuni cuisine is the cuisine of China, North and South Korea, and Mongolia.
  * Tetsu no Kuni has, alongside its own native cuisine, a sampling of most of the other nations in cuisine, due to its international status as a mediator of disputes. However, as the first samurai in this country were ronin banished from Hi no Kuni, there is perhaps more Hi influence than that of other countries.




	13. Oto no Kuni Cuisine

** Oto no Kuni/Formerly Ta no Kuni (The Land of Rice Fields) Cuisine   
**

**Staples**

  * Barley
  * Egg Noodle
  * Lentil
  * Millet
  * Rice
  * Wheat



**Common Fruits and Vegetables**

  * Apple
  * Asparagus
  * Beet
  * Bitter melon
  * Blackberry
  * Blueberry
  * Cabbage
  * Carrot
  * Celery
  * Cucumber
  * Eggplant
  * Grape
  * Lemon
  * Lime
  * Onion
  * Pear
  * Pepper
  * Plantain
  * Potato
  * Pumpkin
  * Radish
  * Raspberry
  * Spinach
  * Squash
  * Strawberry
  * Sweet potato
  * Tomato
  * Turnip



**Common Meat Sources**

  * Chicken
  * Duck
  * Freshwater fish
  * Goat
  * Goose
  * Mutton/Lamb
  * Pork
  * Rabbit/Hare
  * Saltwater fish
  * Shellfish
  * Venison



**Common Nuts/Legumes/Seeds**

  * Azuki Beans
  * Black-eyed pea
  * Chestnut
  * Chickpea/Garbanzo beans
  * Green bean
  * Lentil
  * Lima bean
  * Okra
  * Peanut
  * Pumpkin seed
  * Sesame seeds
  * Walnut



**Common Spices**

  * Basil
  * Cardamom
  * Chili
  * Cinnamon
  * Clove
  * Coriander
  * Cumin
  * Dill
  * Fenugreek
  * Garlic
  * Ginger
  * Mint
  * Mustard
  * Nutmeg
  * Pepper
  * Saffron
  * Salt
  * Thyme
  * Turmeric



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Native to the Region**

  * Akki rotti—a breakfast food. Rice flour is mixed with salt and kneaded well to make a soft dough. Sliced onions and carrots, chopped coriander, cumin seeds and sesame seeds are added while kneading the dough. Oil is spread over a griddle, and the dough (with its mixings) is spread across it as to resemble a pancake. It is served hot and eaten alongside chutney. It is also served with butter.
  * Aloo paratha—a breakfast food. Paratha bread is stuffed with a spiced mixture of mashed potato, which is rolled out and cooked on a hot tawa (a disc-shaped griddle). The dish is served with butter or chutney.
  * Aloo tikki—a snack made of boiled potatoes and various spices.
  * Bakarkhani—a layered bread made by stretching a sheet of dough repeatedly and interleaving it with clarified butter before baking on a tandoor.
  * Batata vada—potato fritters
  * Beguni—a snack food; eggplant slices deep fried in batter.
  * Bhakri—a round, flat unleavened bread.
  * Bhatoora—a soft, fluffy, deep-fried bread.
  * Chakkoli—a dish made from rice flour balls and curry spices with meat, usually shrimp.
  * Chapati—an unleavened flatbread.
  * Chicken tikka masala—a dish of roasted chicken chunks in a spicy masala sauce. The sauce is usually creamy, spiced and orange-colored.
  * Chhena—fresh, unripened curd cheese; cottage cheese.
  * Chippi appam—an appetizer made from curried rice flour and oysters.
  * Chole bhatoora—a combination of chole (spicy chickpeas) and bhatoora.
  * Chuak—rice beer.
  * Dalithoy—a soup made of split yellow lentils.
  * Doodhpak—a rice pudding dish made from rice, milk, saffron and nuts, accompanied with puri.
  * Falooda—a cold, sweet beverage made by mixing rose syrup with vermicelli, basil seeds, jelly pieces and tapioca pearls along with either milk or ice cream.
  * Gujia—a sweet dumpling made with suji or Maida flour and stuffed with khoya.
  * Haleem—a thick stew made of wheat, barley, mutton, lentils and spices, slow-cooked for seven to eight hours.
  * Idiyappam—rice flour pressed into noodle form, then steamed.
  * Idli—a savory cake made by steaming a (2 to 3 inch diameter) batter consisting of fermented lentils and rice.
  * Jalebi—a sweet made from deep-frying a wheat flour batter in a circular shape, which is then soaked in sugar syrup.
  * Kadhi—a spicy dish whose thick gravy is based on chickpea flour and contains vegetable fritters called pakoras, to which sour yogurt is added to give it a slightly sour taste. It’s typically served with roti, paratha and rice.
  * Kalakand—a sweet made out of solidified, sweetened milk and chhena.
  * Keema—minced mutton curry with peas or potatoes.
  * Khoya—a milk food made of either dried whole milk or milk thickened by heating in an open iron pan.
  * Khoya paneer—a dish made of paneer, khoya, onion, garlic, ginger, tomato, and multiple spices. It’s typically served with roti.
  * Koozh—a millet porridge; served as a street food.
  * Krupuk—deep-fried crackers made from starch and other ingredients.
  * Laapsi—a sweet dish made of broken wheat pieces and clarified butter along with nuts, raising and dried fruits.
  * Lahpet—fermented or pickled tea.
  * Litti—a snack food consisting of balls of wheat and sattu (powdered gram or lentil) formed into balls with spices and then filled with clarified butter via a hole. It may be eaten with yogurt.
  * Luchi—a deep-fried flatbread made of wheat flour.
  * Magaj—an offal dish, usually the brain of a cow, goat or sheep, served with gravy.
  * Maacha bihana—fish roe dumplings with spice paste, fried to make curry.
  * Masala chai—a flavored tea beverage made by brewing black tea with a mixture of aromatic spices, herbs and milk.
  * Matta paneer—a dish of paneer and peas in a slightly sweet and spicy sauce..
  * Meeshay—rice noodles mixed with meat sauce made from pork or chicken.
  * Mitha dahi—a fermented sweet yogurt; made from milk, sugar, yogurt and curd.
  * Mohinga—rice noodles in fish soup.
  * Neer dosa—a crepe prepared from rice batter. It can be eaten with chutney, or fish, chicken or mutton curry.
  * Pakora—a fried snack fritter created by taking one or two ingredients such as onion, eggplant, potato, spinach, plantain, pepper, paneer, tomato, chili pepper, or occasionall bread or chicken and dipping them into a batter of gram flour and then deep-frying them.
  * Paneer—an unaged, acid-set, non-melting curd cheese made by curdling heated milk with lemon juice or vinegar.
  * Paneer tikka—chunks of paneer marinated in spices and grilled on a tandoor.
  * Panipuri—a street food; a round, hollow puri is filled with a mixture of water, tamarind, chili, potato, onion, and chickpeas.
  * Panta bhat—a lightly fermented rice-based dish. Leftover rice is soaked in water to prevent spoiling, and is generally served with salt, onion and chili. A popular breakfast food.
  * Pantua—a sweet made of deep-fried balls of semolina, chhena, milk, clarified butter and sugar syrup.
  * Paratha—an unleavened flat bread.
  * Pasanda—a meat dish made of a leg of lamb or chicken flattened into strips, marinated and fried in a dish with multiple seasonings.
  * Pathiri—a pancake made of rice flour.
  * Peda—a sweet usually prepared in thick, semi-soft pieces. The main ingredients are khoya, sugar, cardamom and saffron.
  * Pongal—a breakfast food; rice boiled with milk and jaggery (unrefined sugar)
  * Puran poli—a sweet flatbread, served hot.
  * Puri—an unleavened, golden-brown bread often eaten with breakfast.
  * Rajma—a vegetarian dish consisting of red kidney beans in a thick sauce with many spices and usually served with rice and roti.
  * Ras malai—a sweet dessert consisting of sugary white, cream or yellow-colored balls of paneer soaked in clotted cream, flavored with cardamom.
  * Rasgulla—a sweet dish, made of ball-shaped dumplings of chhena and semolina dough, cooked in light sugar syrup.
  * Roti—an unleavened white flatbread.
  * Roti prata—a fried flour-based pancake that is cooked over a flat grill. It is usually served with a vegetable or meat-based curry, but can also be cooked with cheese, onion, chocolate, mushroom or egg.
  * Sandesh—a sweet, pancake-like dessert created with milk and sugar.
  * Sev mamra—a snack consisting of spicy dry ingredients such as puffed rice, savory noodles, and peanuts.
  * Shahi paneer—a preparation of paneer in a thick gravy made of cream, tomatoes and spices. It is typically eaten with roti or chapatti.
  * Sukhdi—a sweet made from wheat flour and jaggery in clarified butter. Often eaten at weddings and holidays.
  * Surnoli—a pancake with a puffy texture and holes. It is yellow and about 10 centimeters in diameter.
  * Tandoor bread—a type of bread baked in a clay oven called a tandoor.
  * Tandoori chicken—roasted chicken marinated with yogurt and spices, roasted in a tandoor.
  * Tea
  * Thalipeeth—savory multi-grain pancake, made from flour, coriander, cumin, wheat and rice.
  * Vinyali—a dish of pork and spices.
  * Zozu—an alcoholic beverage similar to beer, made with maize, rice or whatever other grains can be found.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Hi no Kuni**

  * Akashiyaki—small, round dumplings made of an egg-rich batter and octopus dipped into dashi (a thin fish broth) before eating.
  * Anpan—sweet roll filled with red bean paste
  * Chukadon—a popular fast food dish, consisting of a bowl of rice with stir-fried vegetables, onions, mushrooms, and thin slices of meat on top.
  * Curry
  * Curry bread—deep friend bread filled with curry sauce; can also be filled with sesame or chestnuts
  * Dango—a dumpling made from rice flour, and is often served with green tea. Dango is eaten year-round, but seasonal varieties exist.
  * Dashi—a thin fish broth used in cooking.
  * Denpun dango—dango made from potato and baked with sweet boiled beans.
  * Donburi—a “rice bowl dish” consisting of fish, meat, vegetables and other ingredients simmered together and over rice.
  * Gyoza—boiled, steamed or pan-fried dumplings, filled with pork, beef, chicken, fish, shrimp, cabbage, scallion, leek or garlic chives, or some combination of the ingredients.
  * Hayashi rice—beef and onions stewed in a red-wine sauce and served on rice.
  * Hiyashi chuka—a dish consisting of chilled ramen noodles with various toppings, including strips of egg, carrot, cucumber, ginger, ham, chicken, or barbecued pork. It is typically served in summer.
  * Ikameshi—a Japanese dish composed of squid cooked with rice inside. The rice is usually a blend of glutinous and non-glutinous rice. Other ingredients sometimes used as stuffing include minced squid tentacles, bamboo shoots, carrots, and aburaage (A food product made from soybeans).
  * Ikayaki—a fast food; grilled squid topped with soy sauce.
  * Kakigori—a shaved ice dessert flavored with syrup and condensed milk. Popular flavors include: strawberry, cherry, lemon, green tea, grape, melon, and sweet plum. Its texture is similar to fresh fallen snow.
  * Katsudon—a bowl of rice topped with tonkatsu, egg and condiments.
  * Mitarashi dango—dango (dumplings) skewered onto sticks in groups of 3-5 and covered with a sweet soy sauce. Characterized by its glassy glaze and burnt fragrance.
  * Mochi—a rice cake made out of glutinous, waxy, sweet or mochi rice. The rice is pounded into paste and moulded into a desired shape.
  * Natto—soybeans fermented with Bacillus subtilis (A bacteria harmless to all those but the most immunocompromised). It has a powerful smell, strong flavor, and slimy texture. It’s considered an acquired taste, and is popular as a breakfast food.
  * Okonomiyaki—savory pancakes with various meat and vegetable ingredients
  * Onigiri—rice balls, either ball- or triangle-shaped. They may be solid rice or filled with fillings such as: tuna with mayonnaise, shrimp with mayonnaise, roasted and crumbled mackerel, tempura, cutlets, umeboshi, squid, roe, salmon, or some other filling.
  * Pocky—a snack-food, consisting of biscuit-sticks half-covered in some sort of glaze: chocolate, strawberry, grape, azuki bean, caramel, milk tea, cream cheese, berry, sweet potato, coconut, pineapple, pumpkin, hazelnut, blueberry, green tea, apple, honey, milk, or some other glaze.
  * Sake—a fermented rice wine (Though in actuality, it has more in common with beer).
  * Sashimi—very fresh raw meat or fish sliced into thin pieces.
  * Sekihan—sticky rice steamed with azuki beans, thus giving the rice a reddish color. It is often consumed on special occasions such as birthdays and weddings.
  * Taiyaki—a fish-shaped cake, made of pancake batter, and filled with red bean paste, custard, cheese, chocolate, okonomiyaki, gyoza filling, or sausage (The latter three being the least common).
  * Tempura—a dish of seafood or vegetables that have been battered and deep-fried.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kaminari no Kuni**

  * Akvavit—a spirit flavored with spices and herbs; the main spice should be caraway or dill. It is 40% alcoholic.
  * Alexandertorte—a dessert consisting of pastry strips filled with raspberry preserves or raspberry jam. It’s typically eaten as a lunch or dinner dessert, but can also be served at tea.
  * Bigos—a hunter’s stew. Typical ingredients include white cabbage, sauerkraut, various cuts of meat and sausage, whole or pureed tomatoes, honey and mushrooms. It may be seasoned with pepper, caraway, juniper berries, bay leaves, marjoram, pimento, dried or smoked plums, and other seasonings. It is usually eaten with mashed potatoes or rye bread.
  * Blintz—a thin, unleavened buckwheat pancake. They may be made plain, or with ingredients such as grated potato, apples or raisins. They may be covered with butter, sour cream, jam, honey or caviar, and then rolled into a crepe. They may be made with a filling of jam, fruit, potato, cottage cheese, cooked ground meat, cooked chicken, chopped mushrooms, bean sprouts, cabbage or onions.
  * Brunost—a caramelized brown whey cheese.
  * Coulibiac—a fish loaf made of salmon or sturgeon, rice, hard-boiled eggs, mushrooms and dill, baked in a pastry shell.
  * Frikadeller—flat, pan-fried dumplings of minced meat. Typically made of minced pork, veal, or beef, chopped onions; eggs; milk (or water); bread crumbs; salt and pepper, and then formed into balls and flattened somewhat. They are then pan-fried in pork fat.
  * Gamalost—a pungent cheese that can be stored for long periods without refrigeration.
  * Goulash—a stew of meat, noodles and vegetables (particularly potato), seasoned with paprika and other spices.
  * Kalakukko—a dish made of a fish baked inside a loaf of bread.
  * Kalduny—a stuffed dumpling made of unleavened dough, filled with meat, mushrooms or other fillings.
  * Palt—dumplings made of unboiled potatoes, filled with pork.
  * Pickled eggs—hard-boiled eggs cured in brine.
  * Pierogi—dumplings of unleavened dough, stuffed with potato filling, ground meat, cheese, or fruit.
  * Pirozhki—a baked or fried bun filled with a variety of fillings, such as meat, mushroom, rice and onion.
  * Porridge
  * Rum ball—a truffle-like confection, being sweet, dense balls flavored with chocolate and rum.
  * Rupjmaize—a dark bread made from rye.
  * Rusk—a hard, dry biscuit.
  * Sauerkraut—finely cut cabbage fermented by various lactic acid bacteria.
  * Skilandis—a type of sausage made of a pig’s stomach stuffed with salted, garlic-flavored minced meat and bacon. Then the sausage is smoked and dried, but not cold-smoked.
  * Slivovitz—a distilled beverage made from Damson plums, frequently referred to as plum brandy.
  * Sultsina—a cross between a crepe and a flatbread, made of unleavened rye dough, a rice pudding filling.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Tsuchi no Kuni**

  * Ale
  * Atholl brose—a drink made by mixing oatmeal brose, honey, whiskey, and sometimes cream.
  * Bacon and egg pie—a crisp pastry crust filled with bacon, egg, and, uncommonly, onion. Often has peas for color and a small amount of tomato.
  * Black Forest Cake—a dessert consisting of several layers of chocolate cake, with whipped cream and cherries between each layer; the top is decorated with whipped cream, cherries and chocolate shavings
  * Black pudding—a type of sausage made by cooking animal blood with a filler until it’s thick enough to congeal when cooled; pig, cow or sheep blood is the most common.
  * Bread soup—a soup consisting of stale bread in a meat or sausage broth; may add other elements such as onions, spices, egg or bacon
  * Brose—an uncooked form of porridge, made of oatmeal mixed with boiling water and allowed to stand for a short time. It’s eaten with salt and butter, milk or buttermilk.
  * Coddle—a dish consisting of layers of roughly sliced pork sausages and rashers (thinly slice, somewhat fatty back bacon) with sliced potatoes and onions. It can also include barley.
  * Egg and chips—a popular working-class dish, consisting of chips (fried potato chips; by American standards, French fries) served with fried eggs.
  * Egg salad
  * Fish and chips—a fast food dish of battered fish and deep-fried chips (French fries)
  * Fishcake—a filleted fish and potato patty sometimes coated in breadcrumbs or batter, and fried.
  * Fruitcake
  * Leek soup—a soup made of potatoes, leeks, chicken broth and heavy cream.
  * Pichelsteiner—a stew containing several types of meat and vegetables; seasoned with onion and garlic
  * Skirts and kidneys—a stew made from pork and pig’s kidneys.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Mizu no Kuni**

  * Bakmi goreng—fried noodles served with egg, chicken or seafood, and thinly sliced carrots.
  * Bandung—a drink consisting of milk mixed with rose cordial syrup, giving it a pink color.
  * Bubur ayam—rice porridge served with soy sauce, spices, fried shallots, shredded chicken meat, and soybeans.
  * Chapati—a thin, unleavened flat bread.
  * Chwee kueh—a steamed rice cake, made by mixing rice flour and water together to form a slightly viscous mixture.
  * Dosa—a fermented crepe made from rice batter black lentils. Often eaten with breakfast or as a street food.
  * Ketupat—a packed rice dumpling
  * Pasembur—a salad consisting of shredded cucumbers, potatoes, tofu, turnips, bean sprouts, with seafood such as prawn fritters, fried crab, and fried octopus. It’s served with a sweet and spicy nut sauce.
  * Pempek—a savory fishcake delicacy, made from fish and tapioca, and served with noodles and a dark, rich sweet and sour sauce.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kaze no Kuni**

  * Abgusht—a mutton stew thickened with chickpeas; usually made with lamb, chickpeas, onions, potatoes and tomatoes, and dried lime.
  * Arak—a highly alcoholic drink; it is clear, colorless, and flavored with anise.
  * Batata harra—a vegetable dish consisting of potatoes, red peppers, coriander, chili and garlic, fried together in olive oil.
  * Bichak—a stuffed baked tri-cornered appetizer served during tea or coffee hour. It can be filled with jam for a sweet taste, or meat and cheese for a savory taste.
  * Borek—a fried phyllo pastry that can be stuffed with cheese (usually feta), minced meat or vegetables.
  * Calamari—fried squid; served in the coastal areas
  * Coffee
  * Falafel—a deep-fried ball made from chickpeas, fava beans, or both.
  * Fatayer—a meat pie pastry.
  * Gheimeh—a stew consisting of cubed lamb, crushed chickpeas, tomatoes, onion, and dried lime. It is garnished with eggplant and served with rice.
  * Kesme—a noodle dish; egg noodles are boiled in a broth containing ingredients such as potatoes, meat, carrots, peppers and tomatoes.
  * Kibbeh nayyeh—a dish consisting of minced raw lamb mixed with fine bulgur and spices. It’s often served with mint leaves and olive oil, green peppers and scallions. Sometimes a sauce of garlic or olive oil is served.
  * Kofta—balls of minced or ground goat/lamb meat, mixed with spices.
  * Moussaka—a layered dish; ground meat and eggplant or potato casserole, topped with a savory custard browned in the oven
  * Mujadarra—cooked lentils served with rice and sautéed onions
  * Murtabak—a stuffed pancake or pan-fried bread; typically stuffed with mutton, along with garlic, egg and onion, and is eaten with curry gravy, sliced cucumber, onions and tomato sauce.
  * Surnoli—a type of pancake, yellow in color, with holes and a puffy texture, usually about ten inches in diameter. They are eaten with breakfast or an afternoon tea, served with butter.
  * Tala huwa gosht—a simple meat preparation with lamb and onion.
  * Upma—a breakfast dish, cooked as a thick porridge from dry roasted semolina. Various seasonings and vegetables are added to the dish, depending on personal preference.
  * Uttapam—a thick pancake made of black lentil and rice, topped with tomatoes, onions and chilies, and often eaten with chutney.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Taki no Kuni**

  * Banh re—a street food; sweet potatoes are made into a pancake, deep-fried, then sugared.
  * Bay chhar—fried rice, cooked with sausage, garlic, soy sauce and herbs, and often served with pork.
  * Bun cha—a grilled pork noodle soup; white rice noodles and grilled fatty pork in a steamy broth of fish sauce.
  * Eierpunsch—a warm, sweetened alcoholic drink made with egg yolks, sugar, white wine and vanilla. Sometimes cream or custard is added.
  * Kai yang—a street food. Barbecued roast chicken, halved and pounded flat, marinated and grilled over a low heat on a charcoal flame, but not cooked to be burnt or dry. The marinade typically includes fish sauce, garlic, turmeric, cilantro, and white pepper. Other common ingredients include lemongrass, lime, ginger, vinegar and chili.
  * Mohnnudel—thick noodles made from potato dough.
  * Muskazine—a rich cake made from almonds, spices, sugar, flour, jam and eggs.
  * Palatschinke—a thin, crepe-like pancake.
  * Siopao—steamed buns filled with pork, chicken, beef, shrimp or salted duck eggs.
  * Spatzle—soft egg noodles.
  * Speck—a distinctly juniper-flavored ham.
  * Tafelspitz—boiled beef in broth, served with horseradish.
  * Zemlovka—a sweet dish made of apples and kifli that are soaked in milk. A variant of this uses pears instead of apples. The milk is flavored with sugar, vanilla sugar, and ground cinnamon. It can be eaten both hot and cold.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Yu no Kuni**

  * Arany galuska—a dessert consisting of dumpling balls layered in cakes with vanilla custard-filled pockets.
  * Brudet—a fish stew consisting of several different types of fish. It’s served with barley-meal, which soaks up the fish broth.
  * Debrecener—a pork sausage of uniform fine texture and reddish-orange color, heavily spiced with paprika, garlic, pepper and marjoram.
  * Djevrek—a ring-shaped bread pastry, covered with sesame seeds. It is typically consumed as a breakfast or snack food.
  * Dobos torte—a five-layer sponge cake, layered with chocolate buttercream and topped with thin caramel slices.
  * Fisherman’s soup—a hot, spicy paprika-based river fish soup, made with carp and other freshwater fish, red onions, green peppers, tomatoes and salt.
  * Lesco—a thick vegetable stew which features peppers and tomato, onion, lard, salt, sugar and ground paprika.
  * Maraschino—a clear, bittersweet liqueur made out of Marasca cherries.
  * Mlinci—a thin, dried flatbread.
  * Mortadella—a large sausage made of finely hashed or ground, heat-cured pork sausage. It’s flavored with spices, including black pepper and myrtle berries.
  * Muckalica—a stew made of barbecued meats and vegetables.
  * Sremska—a sausage made of a mixture of beef and pork, spiced with paprika, black pepper, salt and “secret spices.” It is slightly smoked and medium ground.
  * Tavce gravce—a dish made with beans, onions, oil, red dry pepper, black pepper, salt and parsley.
  * Tave kosi—a dish made of baked lamb and rice, served in a yogurt sauce.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Shimo no Kuni**

  * Bob chorba—a bean soup made from dry beans, onions, tomatoes, spearmint and carrots.
  * Chiftele—flat, round meatballs made with minced pork meat, mixed with mashed potatoes and spices and deep-fried.
  * Covrigi—a salted bread topped with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, or large salt grains.
  * Creier pane—a dish made by boiling pig’s brains, coating it evenly in flour, egg and breadcrumbs before frying it in oil.
  * Frigarui—small pieces of meat (usually pork, beef, mutton, lamb or chicken) grilled on a skewer, similar to a kebab or yakitori.
  * Kielbasa—a smoked sausage, often made of pork, often used in soups.
  * Medovukha—a honey-based alcoholic beverage similar to mead but cheaper and faster to make.
  * Tochitura—a dish, like a stew, made from beef and pork in a tomato sauce.
  * Varenyky—a dumpling made of unleavened dough, stuffed with sauerkraut, cheese, mashed potato, cabbage, meat, hard-boiled egg, or a combination of these, or a fruit filling.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Ame no Kuni**

  * Aloo chaat—potatoes fried in oil, with added spices and chutney. Served as a street food.
  * Kadu bouranee—a pumpkin dish made by frying pumpkin with various spices. It’s topped with sour cream and dried mint. Kadu bouranee is typically eaten with bread or rice.
  * Manti—a meat dumpling made of one of the following ingredients: lamb, beef, potato, or pumpkin; fat is often added to meat manti. Manti are topped with butter. Since the preparation of manti is so time-consuming, it becomes an all-family activity.
  * Mattha—a spiced beverage made of buttermilk. Ingredients may include mint, roasted cumin seeds, curry leaves, salt and sugar. It may also be smoked. Mattha is typically served before or after a meal
  * Sher berinj—a rice pudding flavored with rosewater and chopped almonds. It is served chilled as a dessert.
  * Sujuk—a dry, spicy sausage. It is made of ground meat (usually beef or pork), with spices such as cumin, garlic, salt, sumac and red pepper. This is fed into a sausage casing and left to dry for several weeks.
  * Talkhan—a sweet made from walnuts and mulberries. It resembles chocolate, but lighter and coarser.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kusa no Kuni**

  * Ajapsandali—a vegetarian dish consisting of eggplant, potato, tomato, bell pepper and seasoning.
  * Dal bhat—a dish consisting of steamed rice and lentils; may also be cooked with onion, garlic, ginger, or tomatoes; is always cooked with spices such as coriander, cumin or turmeric.
  * Dimlama—a stew made of a combination of meat, potatoes, onions, vegetables, and sometimes fruit.
  * Dovga—a yogurt soup cooked with a variety of herbs (coriander, dill and others) and rice. It’s served warm in winter or cold in summer.
  * Qurabiya—a shortbread-type biscuit made with ground almonds.
  * Raksi—a traditional distilled alcoholic beverage, usually made at home, usually made from rice.
  * Sarburma—a meat pie made out of dough and lamb.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kawa no Kuni**

  * Fasolada—a bean soup made of dry white beans, tomatoes, carrots, celery, and olive oil.
  * Kitron—a lemon liquor made from the fruit and leaves of the citron tree.
  * Leblebi—a snack food made of roasted chickpeas, roasted with salt, hot spices or dried cloves.
  * Loukaniko—a pork sausage flavored with orange peel, fennel seed, and various other dried herbs and spices, and sometimes smoked over aromatic woods.



**Special Notes**

  * The real life inspiration for the native cuisine of Oto no Kuni is the cuisine of Bangladesh, (mostly Northern) India and Myanmar.
  * There is more cross-cultural mix of food here than anywhere else in the nations, due to the fact that even before Orochimaru invaded Ta no Kuni and made it Oto no Kuni, the land was a haven for missing nin and other outlaws, who brought their cultures and food traditions with them.




	14. Kusa no Kuni Cuisine

** Kusa no Kuni Cuisine  
**

**Staples**

  * Azuki beans
  * Barley
  * Egg noodles
  * Pork
  * Rice
  * Wheat



**Common Fruits and Vegetables**

  * Apple
  * Asparagus
  * Beet
  * Blackberry
  * Blueberry
  * Broccoli
  * Cabbage
  * Cherry
  * Cucumber
  * Eggplant
  * Grape
  * Lemon
  * Lime
  * Onion
  * Orange
  * Pear
  * Pepper
  * Plum
  * Potato
  * Pumpkin
  * Raspberry
  * Strawberry
  * Sweet potato
  * Tomato
  * Turnip



**Common Meat Sources**

  * Beef
  * Chicken
  * Duck
  * Freshwater fish
  * Goat
  * Goose
  * Mutton/Lamb
  * Partridge
  * Pheasant
  * Pork
  * Quail
  * Rabbit/Hare
  * Venison



**Common Nuts/Legumes/Seeds**

  * Azuki beans
  * Black bean
  * Black-eyed pea
  * Chestnut
  * Green bean
  * Hazelnut
  * Lentil
  * Lima bean
  * Kidney bean
  * Pea
  * Peanut
  * Pumpkin seed
  * Sesame seed
  * Snow pea
  * Sunflower seed
  * Walnut



**Common Spices**

  * Allspice
  * Cardamom
  * Caraway
  * Cilantro
  * Cinnamon
  * Cloves
  * Coriander
  * Cumin
  * Dill
  * Garlic
  * Ginger
  * Mint
  * Mustard
  * Nutmeg
  * Oregano
  * Paprika
  * Parsley
  * Pepper
  * Rosemary
  * Salt
  * Tarragon
  * Turmeric



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Native to the Region**

  * Ajapsandali—a vegetarian dish consisting of eggplant, potato, tomato, bell pepper and seasoning.
  * Balyk—salted and dried soft parts of fish, such as salmon or sturgeon.
  * Baursaki—doughnut-like pastries, consisting of fried dough shaped into either spheres or triangles.
  * Boortsog—a fried dough snack.
  * Cakcak—a sweet made from unleavened dough cut and rolled into hazelnut-sized balls, which are then deep-fried in oil. Hazelnuts or dried fruits may be added to the mixture, or they might not be. The fried balls are stacked in a mound and drenched with hot honey. After cooling and hardening, the mound might be topped with hazelnuts or dried fruits. This is a popular dish at weddings.
  * Chacha—a clear, strong liquor made of grape pomace.
  * Chakapuli—a stew made of onion, lamb chops, dry white wine, tarragon leaves, plum sauce, mixed fresh herbs (parsley, mint, dill, cilantro), garlic and salt.
  * Chalap—a beverage consisting of yogurt and salt.
  * Chegdermeh—a dish in which rice, mutton, tomato, onion, and oil is simultaneously cooked with water, with add-ons such as salt and pepper.
  * Choila—a dish consisting of spiced grilled meat, usually chicken or duck; it is eaten with beaten rice and is typically quite spicy.
  * Chuchvara—a very small dumpling made of unleavened dough square filled with meat. The meat filling may be seasoned with chopped onions, salt and pepper.
  * Dal bhat—a dish consisting of steamed rice and lentils; may also be cooked with onion, garlic, ginger, or tomatoes; is always cooked with spices such as coriander, cumin or turmeric.
  * Dimlama—a stew made of a combination of meat, potatoes, onions, vegetables, and sometimes fruit.
  * Dovga—a yogurt soup cooked with a variety of herbs (coriander, dill and others) and rice. It’s served warm in winter or cold in summer.
  * Ema datshi—a dish made of chili peppers and cheese.
  * Gata—a pastry similar to a coffee cake. A popular filling is one made out of butter, sugar and flour, but it can have a filling of nuts, most commonly walnuts. Sometimes, a coin is placed inside the dough before it’s baked, and whoever finds the coin is blessed with good fortune.
  * Gatik—a thick drinking yogurt, often served with breakfast.
  * Ghapama—a stuffed pumpkin dish. It is prepared by removing the insides of the pumpkin and stuffing it with boiled rice and a variety of dried fruits such as chopped almonds, apples, prunes and raisins. It’s also common to pour in honey and mix in ground cinnamon and sugar. The pumpkin is then baked until it becomes soft.
  * Gozinaki—a confection made of caramelized nuts, usually walnuts, fried in honey.
  * Houska—a bread roll topped with poppy seeds, caraway seeds, linseed or salt.
  * Karniyarik—a dish consisting of eggplant stuffed with a mix of sautéed onions, garlic, black pepper, tomatoes, parsley and ground meat.
  * Kaszanka—a blood sausage made of a mixture of pig’s blood, pig offal, and buckwheat kasza stuffed in a pig intestine. It’s usually flavored with onion, black pepper and marjoram.
  * Kattama—fried layered bread.
  * Khachapuri—a filled bread dish. The bread is leavened and allowed to rise, and is shaped in various ways. The filling is made of cheese, egg, and other ingredients.
  * Kharcho—a soup containing beef, rice, cherry plum puree, and chopped walnuts. It is usually served with finely chopped fresh coriander.
  * Khinkali—a dumpling filled with various fillings, mostly with spiced meat (usually beef and pork, sometimes lamb), greens, and onions. Mushrooms or cheese may be used in place of meat. They are eaten plain, or with black pepper. The khinkali is consumed by first sucking out the juices inside the dumpling, so it doesn’t burst. The top is tough and not meant to be eaten; it is usually left on the plate to keep track of how many someone has eaten.
  * Khorovats—barbecued meat on skewers, similar to kebabs and yakitori.
  * Kifli—a bread roll fashioned in a crescent shape.
  * Kolache—a pastry that holds a dollop of fruit rimmed by a puffy pillow of supple dough.
  * Kubdari—a filled bread dish. The bread is leavened and allowed to rise. The filling contains chunks of meat, which can be lamb, kid or pork, spices and onions.
  * Kulajda—a soup made with sour cream, potatoes, dill and quail egg. Mushrooms are also added.
  * Kumis—a fermented beverage made from mare’s milk.
  * Kupati—a pork sausage.
  * Lavash—a soft, thin flatbread typically used as plating for meat or stew.
  * Manti—a meat dumpling made of one of the following ingredients: lamb, beef, potato, or pumpkin; fat is often added to meat manti. Manti are topped with butter. Since the preparation of manti is so time-consuming, it becomes an all-family activity.
  * Masaura—a dehydrated (usually sun-dried) ball of black lentil paste and minced vegetables.
  * Matnakash—a soft bread made from wheat flour or sourdough, shaped into round or oval loafs with criss-crossed scoring.
  * Matsoni—a fermented milk product similar to yogurt.
  * Momo—a type of dumpling that may have one of the following fillings: meat (usually chicken, goat or pork, minced; the meat may be combined with garlic, onion, ginger and coriander); vegetables (finely chopped cabbage or potato); or cheese.
  * Naan—a leavened, oven-baked flatbread.
  * Obi non—a type of flatbread pastry, shaped like a disc and cooked in a tandoor.
  * Oghi—a spirit distilled from fruits or berries.
  * Parenica—a semi-hard, non-ripening, semi-fat, steamed and usually smoked cheese, creamy yellow in color, twisted into snail-like spirals.
  * Pogasca—a savory scone, sprinkled with either cheese, pork crackling, cabbage, black pepper, paprika, garlic, red onion, caraway seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds or poppy seeds.
  * Qurabiya—a shortbread-type biscuit made with ground almonds.
  * Raksi—a traditional distilled alcoholic beverage, usually made at home, usually made from rice.
  * Sarburma—a meat pie made out of dough and lamb.
  * Sel roti—a circular-shaped bread or rice doughnut.
  * Shoti—a bread made out of white flour and shaped like a canoe rowboat.
  * Sujuk—a dry, spicy sausage consisting of ground meat (either beef or pork) with various spices such as cumin, sumac, garlic, salt and red pepper, fed into a sausage casing and allowed to dry for several weeks.
  * Sulguni—a pickled cheese with a sour, moderately salty flavor, a dimpled texture, and an elastic consistency.
  * Tandoor bread—a type of bread baked in a clay oven called a tandoor.
  * Tea
  * Thukpa—a noodle soup, usually served with meat.
  * Tsheringma—an herbal tea taken as a traditional medicine, meant to soothe the nerves.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Tsuchi no Kuni**

  * Ale
  * Atholl brose—a drink made by mixing oatmeal brose, honey, whiskey, and sometimes cream.
  * Bacon and egg pie—a crisp pastry crust filled with bacon, egg, and, uncommonly, onion. Often has peas for color and a small amount of tomato.
  * Barmbrack—a yeasted bread with added sultana grapes and raisins. Often served toasted with butter alongside tea.
  * Battered sausage—a pork sausage dipped in batter, fried, and usually served with chips.
  * Black bun—a type of fruit cake completely covered in pastry. The cake mixture typically includes raisins, currants, almonds, citrus peel, ginger, cinnamon and pepper.
  * Black Forest Cake—a dessert consisting of several layers of chocolate cake, with whipped cream and cherries between each layer; the top is decorated with whipped cream, cherries and chocolate shavings
  * Black pudding—a type of sausage made by cooking animal blood with a filler until it’s thick enough to congeal when cooled; pig, cow or sheep blood is the most common.
  * Bread soup—a soup consisting of stale bread in a meat or sausage broth; may add other elements such as onions, spices, egg or bacon
  * Brose—an uncooked form of porridge, made of oatmeal mixed with boiling water and allowed to stand for a short time. It’s eaten with salt and butter, milk or buttermilk.
  * Buchteln—sweet rolls made of yeast dough, filled with jam, poppy seeds or curd, and baked in a large pan so they stick together.
  * Ginger wine—a fortified wine made from a fermented blend of ground ginger and raisins.
  * Goulash—a stew of meat, noodles and vegetables (particularly potato), seasoned with paprika and other spices.
  * Hash—a dish consisting of diced meat, potatoes and spices that are then gathered and cooked together, either alone or with onions.
  * Leek soup—a soup made of potatoes, leeks, chicken broth and heavy cream.
  * Sauerkraut—finely cut cabbage fermented by various lactic acid bacteria.
  * White pudding—a sausage similar to black pudding, except it’s made of fat instead of blood.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Hi no Kuni**

  * Anpan—sweet roll filled with red bean paste
  * Chukadon—a popular fast food dish, consisting of a bowl of rice with stir-fried vegetables, onions, mushrooms, and thin slices of meat on top.
  * Curry
  * Gyoza—boiled, steamed or pan-fried dumplings, filled with pork, beef, chicken, fish, shrimp, cabbage, scallion, leek or garlic chives, or some combination of the ingredients.
  * Katsudon—a bowl of rice topped with tonkatsu, egg and condiments.
  * Miso soup—a soup consisting of dashi stock into which softened miso paste is mixed. Various ingredients may be added, including tofu, nori, scallions, mushrooms, potatoes, onion, shrimp, fish, and grated or sliced daikon.
  * Mochi—a rice cake made out of glutinous, waxy, sweet or mochi rice. The rice is pounded into paste and moulded into a desired shape.
  * Natto—soybeans fermented with Bacillus subtilis (A bacteria harmless to all those but the most immunocompromised). It has a powerful smell, strong flavor, and slimy texture. It’s considered an acquired taste, and is popular as a breakfast food.
  * Negimaki—broiled strips of beef marinated in teriyaki sauce and rolled with scallions.
  * Oden—a winter dish consisting of boiled eggs, daikon radish, konnyaku (a type of yam) and processed fish cakes stewed in a light, soy-flavored dashi broth.
  * Okonomiyaki—savory pancakes with various meat and vegetable ingredients
  * Onigiri—rice balls, either ball- or triangle-shaped. They may be solid rice or filled with fillings such as: tuna with mayonnaise, shrimp with mayonnaise, roasted and crumbled mackerel, tempura, cutlets, umeboshi, squid, roe, salmon, or some other filling.
  * Sake—a fermented rice wine (Though in actuality, it has more in common with beer).
  * Taiyaki—a fish-shaped cake, made of pancake batter, and filled with red bean paste, custard, cheese, chocolate, okonomiyaki, gyoza filling, or sausage (The latter three being the least common).
  * Tamagozake—a beverage consisting of heated sake, sugar, and a raw egg; often called “egg sake.”
  * Tofu—bean curd; made by coagulating soy juice and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks.
  * Tonkatsu—deep-fried breaded cutlet of pork.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kaze no Kuni**

  * Coffee
  * Gyro—strips of lamb (or less commonly, chicken), tomatoes, onion and tzatziki in a thick pita wrap. May occasionally have potato in the wrap as well.
  * Pita bread—a slightly-leavened, flat, wheat, round pocket bread
  * Sfenj—a doughnut cooked in oil. It’s sprinkled with sugar or soaked in honey.
  * Tzatziki—a thick sauce or dip, made of strained yogurt, mixed with cucumbers, garlic, salt, olive oil, and sometimes lemon juice, dill, mint or parsley. It is always served cold.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Ame no Kuni**

  * Chakna—a spicy stew made of goat tripe and other animal digestive parts.
  * Falooda—a cold, sweet beverage. It is made by mixing rose syrup with basil seeds, jelly pieces and tapioca pearls with either milk, water or ice cream.
  * Kabuli pulao—a steamed rice dish mixed with lentils, carrots, raisins and lamb.
  * Kadchgall—a hard cylindrical cheese made of sheep milk; it is generally sweet and a little salty.
  * Paneer—an unaged, acid-set, non-melting curd cheese made by curdling heated milk with lemon juice or vinegar.
  * Paratha—an unleavened flatbread.
  * Piti—a soup made with mutton and vegetables (tomatoes, potatoes and chickpeas), infused with saffron water to add flavor, and cooked in a sealed crock.
  * Ras malai—a sweet dessert consisting of sugary white, cream or yellow-colored balls of paneer soaked in clotted cream, flavored with cardamom.
  * Roti—an unleavened flatbread made from stone-ground wholemeal flour.
  * Shami kebab—a kebab composed of small patties or minced mutton or beef, ground chickpeas and spices.
  * Sher berinj—a rice pudding flavored with rosewater and chopped almonds. It is served chilled as a dessert.
  * Talkhan—a sweet made from walnuts and mulberries. It resembles chocolate, but lighter and coarser.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Taki no Kuni**

  * Banh bao—a ball-shaped dumpling consisting of pork or chicken, onion, eggs, mushrooms and vegetables.
  * Banh cuon—a rice noodle roll made from a thin, wide sheet of steamed fermented rice batter filled with seasoned ground pork, minced mushroom, and minced shallots.
  * Banh hoi—rice vermicelli noodles woven into intricate bundles and often topped with chopped scallions or garlic chives sautéed in oil, served with a complementary meat dish.
  * Banh re—a street food; sweet potatoes are made into a pancake, deep-fried, then sugared.
  * Bay chhar—fried rice, cooked with sausage, garlic, soy sauce and herbs, and often served with pork.
  * Bun cha—a grilled pork noodle soup; white rice noodles and grilled fatty pork in a steamy broth of fish sauce.
  * Chanh muoi—a salty limeade.
  * Com ruou—a dessert. Glutinous rice is cooked, mixed with yeast, and rolled into small balls. The balls are served in a slightly alcoholic, milky-white liquid (essentially a form of rice wine), which also contains small amounts of sugar and salt. The dish is eaten with a spoon.
  * Kai yang—a street food. Barbecued roast chicken, halved and pounded flat, marinated and grilled over a low heat on a charcoal flame, but not cooked to be burnt or dry. The marinade typically includes fish sauce, garlic, turmeric, cilantro, and white pepper. Other common ingredients include lemongrass, lime, ginger, vinegar and chili.
  * Khanom chin—fresh rice noodles.
  * Kifli—a bread roll fashioned in a crescent shape.
  * Knodel—large round poached or boiled potato or bread dumplings, made without yeast, and usually served as a side dish.
  * Mekhong—a golden-colored spirit, similar in taste to rum.
  * Mohnnudel—thick noodles made from potato dough.
  * Muskazine—a rich cake made from almonds, spices, sugar, flour, jam and eggs.
  * Nam ngiao—a noodle soup made with khanom chin, beef or pork, diced curdled blood, chopped tomatoes and crispy roasted or fried dry chilies and garlic. It’s often served alongside pork rinds.
  * Siopao—steamed buns filled with pork, chicken, beef, shrimp or salted duck eggs.
  * Speck—a distinctly juniper-flavored ham.



**Special Notes**

  * The real life inspiration for the cuisine of Kusa no Kuni is the cuisine of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Czech Republic and Slovakia.




	15. Taki no Kuni Cuisine

** Taki no Kuni Cuisine   
**

**Staples**

  * Egg noodles
  * Rice
  * Wheat



**Common Fruits and Vegetables**

  * Apple
  * Asparagus
  * Bitter melon
  * Blackberry
  * Cabbage
  * Carrot
  * Cassava
  * Cherry
  * Citron
  * Cucumber
  * Eggplant
  * Grape
  * Leek
  * Lemon
  * Lime
  * Onion
  * Orange
  * Pear
  * Pepper
  * Plantain
  * Plum
  * Potato
  * Pumpkin
  * Radish
  * Raspberry
  * Rhubarb
  * Spinach
  * Squash
  * Strawberry
  * Sweet potato
  * Tangerine
  * Taro
  * Tomato
  * Turnip
  * Watermelon



**Common Meat Sources**

  * Beef
  * Chicken
  * Duck
  * Freshwater fish
  * Goat
  * Pork
  * Rabbit/Hare
  * Saltwater fish
  * Shellfish
  * Turtle



**Common Nuts/Legumes/Seeds**

  * Black-eyed pea
  * Chestnut
  * Green bean
  * Lima beans
  * Mung bean
  * Okra
  * Pumpkin seeds
  * Sesame seeds
  * Soybean
  * Walnut



**Common Spices**

  * Anise
  * Basil
  * Caraway
  * Chili
  * Coriander
  * Dill
  * Garlic
  * Ginger
  * Lemongrass
  * Mint
  * Nutmeg
  * Parsley
  * Pepper
  * Peppermint
  * Salt
  * Spearmint
  * Tamarind
  * Turmeric



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Native to Eastern Taki**

  * Acar—a type of pickling, made from vegetables such as carrots, cabbage and yardlong beans that are pickled in vinegar and dried chilies.
  * Bai pong moan—fried eggs and white rice; the eggs are flavored with salt and soy sauce, and the rice with soy sauce. It’s a cheap dish, easy to prepare, on the same level as instant ramen.
  * Balut—fertilized duck embryo that is boiled and eaten in its shell
  * Banh bao—a ball-shaped dumpling consisting of pork or chicken, onion, eggs, mushrooms and vegetables.
  * Banh beo—a steamed rice cake. It is white in color and typically features a dimple in the middle in the center, which is filled with savory ingredients including chopped dried or fresh shrimp, scallions, mung bean paste, crispy fried shallots, fish sauce, rice vinegar and oil.
  * Banh cuon—a rice noodle roll made from a thin, wide sheet of steamed fermented rice batter filled with seasoned ground pork, minced mushroom, and minced shallots.
  * Banh hoi—rice vermicelli noodles woven into intricate bundles and often topped with chopped scallions or garlic chives sautéed in oil, served with a complementary meat dish.
  * Banh ran—a deep-fried glutinous rice ball. The outer shell is made from glutinous rice flour, and covered with sesame seeds. The filling is made from sweetened mung bean paste, and scented with jasmine flower essence.
  * Banh re—a street food; sweet potatoes are made into a pancake, deep-fried, then sugared.
  * Bay chhar—fried rice, cooked with sausage, garlic, soy sauce and herbs, and often served with pork.
  * Bun cha—a grilled pork noodle soup; white rice noodles and grilled fatty pork in a steamy broth of fish sauce.
  * Century egg—a duck or chicken egg preserved from anywhere from several weeks to several months in a mixture of clay, salt, ash, quicklime, and rice hulls.
  * Chanh muoi—a salty limeade.
  * Chao tom—grilled shrimp paste on a sugarcane stick.
  * Che troi nuoc—a dessert consisting of balls made from mung bean paste wrapped in a shell made of glutinous rice flour. The balls are served in a thick, sweet clear or brown liquid made of sugar, water and grated ginger root. It is generally warmed before eating and garnished with sesame seeds.
  * Com hen—a dish made from mussels and leftover rice, normally served at room temperature.
  * Com ruou—a dessert. Glutinous rice is cooked, mixed with yeast, and rolled into small balls. The balls are served in a slightly alcoholic, milky-white liquid (essentially a form of rice wine), which also contains small amounts of sugar and salt. The dish is eaten with a spoon.
  * Drunken noodles—a dish of broad rice noodles, soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic, meat, seafood, bean sprouts or other vegetables, and various seasonings. Chili and basil give it it’s distinctive spiciness.
  * Fish ball—a meatball made out of fish flesh.
  * Fried spider
  * Grass jelly—a jelly-like dessert, made by boiling the aged and slightly oxidized stalks and leaves of Mesona chinensis (a member of the mint family) with potassium carbonate for several hours with a little starch and then cooling the liquid to a jelly-like consistency. The jelly can be cut into cubes or other shapes, and then mixed with syrup to produce a drink or dessert thought to have cooling properties; as such, it is popular during the summer.
  * Kaeng som—a sour and spicy fish curry or soup with vegetables.
  * Kai yang—a street food. Barbecued roast chicken, halved and pounded flat, marinated and grilled over a low heat on a charcoal flame, but not cooked to be burnt or dry. The marinade typically includes fish sauce, garlic, turmeric, cilantro, and white pepper. Other common ingredients include lemongrass, lime, ginger, vinegar and chili.
  * Kaipen—a snack made of freshwater green algae, vegetables and sesame seeds.
  * Khai yat sai—a type of omelet. The egg is cooked lightly, topped with several ingredients such as minced beef or pork, peas, onion, scallions, carrots and tomatoes, seasoned with fish sauce and/or oyster sauce, and then folded over.
  * Khanom bueang—a popular form of street food. It resembles a hard taco, made from rice flour. It is typically first filled with sour cream, and then followed by such fillings as strips of fried eggs or egg yolks and scallions.
  * Khanom chin—fresh rice noodles.
  * Kuy teav—a noodle soup consisting of rice noodles with pork stock and other toppings, such as herbs, shellfish and egg.
  * Larb—a minced meat salad. Meat (chicken, beef, duck, fish, or pork) flavored with fish sauce, lime sauce, padaek, roasted ground rice and fresh herbs, either raw or cooked, is minced and mixed with chili, mint, and, optionally, assorted vegetables. It is served at room temperature and usually with a serving of sticky rice and raw vegetables.
  * Mekhong—a golden-colored spirit, similar in taste to rum.
  * Mi krop—a dish made with rice noodles and a sauce that is both sweet and acidic; the acidic taste comes from one of the ingredients in the sauce, citron peel.
  * Nam ngiao—a noodle soup made with khanom chin, beef or pork, diced curdled blood, chopped tomatoes and crispy roasted or fried dry chilies and garlic. It’s often served alongside pork rinds.
  * Nam pla—an aromatic, strong tasting fish sauce used commonly as a condiment.
  * Nam tok—a spicy soup enriched with raw cow or pig’s blood. It also includes noodles, bean sprouts, pieces of liver, pork, dumplings, green vegetables and spices. It has a rich, intense flavor.
  * Nuea phat phrik—a dish of beef fried with chili peppers and herbs.
  * Oliang—an iced coffee drink which blends the coffee together with soybeans, sesame seeds and other additives.
  * Padaek—a condiment made from fermented or pickled fish that has been cured.
  * Pho—a noodle soup made with a rice, clear broth made from a long boiling of meat and spices. The most common meat used is beef or chicken. It is typically served in bowls with spring onion, slices of semi-cooked beef, and broth. Various herbs and vegetables may also be added.
  * Rat na—a noodle dish made of stir-fried wide rice noodles, meat such as beef, chicken, pork or seafood, garlic and straw mushrooms. It’s then covered in a sauce made of stock and tapioca starch. It is sweetened with sweet soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar and black pepper.
  * Sai ua—a grilled pork sausage, containing minced pork meat, herbs, spices and red curry paste. It is usually eaten grilled alongside sticky rice.
  * Shahe fen—a wide rice noodle.
  * Siopao—steamed buns filled with pork, chicken, beef, shrimp or salted duck eggs.
  * Tea
  * Yam neam—a street food consisting of crumbled crisp fried glutinous rice balls, minced pork, ginger, green chilies, peanuts and onion. It’s usually eaten with leafy greens.
  * Youtiao—a long, golden-brown, deep-fried strip of dough that is usually eaten for breakfast with sweetened condensed milk.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Native to Western Taki**

  * Bosna—a spicy fast food dish. It resembles a hot dog, consisting of a bratwurst sausage, onions, and a blend of mustard, tomato ketchup and curry powder. It’s made with white bread and usually grilled briefly before serving.
  * Bratwurst—a sausage usually composed of veal, pork or beef, usually grilled or pan-fried.
  * Buchteln—sweet rolls made of yeast dough, filled with jam, poppy seeds or curd, and baked in a large pan so they stick together.
  * Donauwelle—a sheet cake. A marble pound cake with sour cherries, buttercream, cocoa and chocolate.
  * Eierpunsch—a warm, sweetened alcoholic drink made with egg yolks, sugar, white wine and vanilla. Sometimes cream or custard is added.
  * Esterhazy torte—a cake consisting of buttercream sandwiched between four to five layers of almond meringue.
  * Germknodel—a fluffy yeast dough dumpling with a mix of poppy seeds and sugar, filled with spicy plum jam and melted butter on top, often eaten with vanilla cream sauce. It’s served both as a dessert and a main course.
  * Goulash—a stew of meat, noodles and vegetables (particularly potato), seasoned with paprika and other spices.
  * Kartoffelkase—a spread made from potatoes, sour cream, cream, onions, caraway seeds and parsley.
  * Kaszanka—a blood sausage made of a mixture of pig’s blood, pig offal, and buckwheat kasza stuffed in a pig intestine. It’s usually flavored with onion, black pepper and marjoram.
  * Kifli—a bread roll fashioned in a crescent shape.
  * Knodel—large round poached or boiled potato or bread dumplings, made without yeast, and usually served as a side dish.
  * Kniekuchle—a fried dough pastry, often with raisins added.
  * Kulajda—a soup made with sour cream, potatoes, dill and quail egg. Mushrooms are also an important ingredient.
  * Mohnnudel—thick noodles made from potato dough.
  * Muskazine—a rich cake made from almonds, spices, sugar, flour, jam and eggs.
  * Palatschinke—a thin, crepe-like pancake.
  * Porkolt—a stew with boneless meat, paprika, some vegetables and no potato.
  * Sauerkraut—finely cut cabbage fermented by various lactic acid bacteria.
  * Schupfnudel—a type of dumpling or thick noodle resembling a finger.
  * Spatzle—soft egg noodles.
  * Speck—a distinctly juniper-flavored ham.
  * Tafelspitz—boiled beef in broth, served with horseradish.
  * Zemlovka—a sweet dish made of apples and kifli that are soaked in milk. A variant of this uses pears instead of apples. The milk is flavored with sugar, vanilla sugar, and ground cinnamon. It can be eaten both hot and cold.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Tsuchi no Kuni**

  * Ale
  * Bakewell tart—a confection consisting of a shortcrust pastry with a layer of jam and sponge filling with almonds. It can be served warm or cold.
  * Bannock—a variety of flat quick bread; a wedge cut out of this circular bread is referred to as a scone.
  * Battered sausage—a pork sausage dipped in batter, fried, and usually served with chips.
  * Baumkuchen—a layered cake, resembling a large doughnut, and the layers resembling tree rings.
  * Cider—both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.
  * Coddle—a dish consisting of layers of roughly sliced pork sausages and rashers (thinly slice, somewhat fatty back bacon) with sliced potatoes and onions. It can also include barley.
  * Colcannon—a dish consisting of mashed potatoes mixed with kale or cabbage.
  * Crubeens—boiled pig’s feet.
  * Egg and chips—a popular working-class dish, consisting of chips (fried potato chips; by American standards, French fries) served with fried eggs.
  * Hasenpfeffer—a stew made from marinated rabbit or hare, braised with onions and wine in a marinade thickened with the animal’s blood. Seasonings typically include salt, onions, garlic, lemon, thyme, rosemary, allspice, juniper berries, cloves and bay leaves.
  * Hash—a dish consisting of diced meat, potatoes and spices that are then gathered and cooked together, either alone or with onions.
  * Head cheese—not actually a cheese; is actually a cold cut meat jelly made with flesh from the head of a cow or pig; spiced with onion, black pepper, salt, allspice or vinegar
  * Sauerbraten—a pot roast (generally of beef, but other meats can be used as well), marinated before cooking in vinegar, water, spices and seasonings.
  * Schuxen—an elongated fried dough pastry made from rye flour and yeast.
  * Scone—a wedge of bannock bread, often eaten with clotted cream or a sort of jam.
  * Scouse—a lamb or beef stew. Vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and onions are added.
  * Shepherd’s pie—a meat pie with a crust of mashed potato
  * Skirlie—a dish made from oatmeal fried with fat, onions and seasonings.
  * Skirts and kidneys—a stew made from pork and pig’s kidneys.
  * Syllabub—a dessert made from rich milk or cream seasoned with sugar and lightly curdled with wine.
  * Tatws pum munud—a stew made with smoked bacon, stock, potatoes and other vegetables; all the ingredients are cut into slices, so as to lie flat.
  * White pudding—a sausage similar to black pudding, except it’s made of fat instead of blood.
  * Zeeuwse bolus—a sweet pastry made by baking dough in a spiral shape and covering it with treacle and cinnamon; the flatter underside is covered with butter.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Hi no Kuni**

  * Akashiyaki—small, round dumplings made of an egg-rich batter and octopus dipped into dashi (a thin fish broth) before eating.
  * Chawanmushi—egg custard, usually eaten as an appetizer. Consists of an egg mixture flavored with soy sauce, dashi, and mirin (rice wine; not sake), with other ingredients such as shiitake mushrooms, kamaboko (cured surimi, a fish paste), lily root and boiled shrimp. The mixture is placed into a tea-cup like container.
  * Chazuke—a dish made by pouring green tea, dashi, or hot water over cooked rice in roughly the same proportion as milk over cereal. Toppings include tsukemono (pickled vegetables), umeboshi, nori, furikake, sesame seeds, tarako (salted roe), mentaiko (salted and marinated roe), salted salmon, shiokara (pickled seafood), and wasabi.
  * Chukadon—a popular fast food dish, consisting of a bowl of rice with stir-fried vegetables, onions, mushrooms, and thin slices of meat on top.
  * Curry
  * Denpun dango—dango made from potato and baked with sweet boiled beans.
  * Ganmodoki—fried tofu fritter made with vegetables, egg white and sesame seeds.
  * Gyoza—boiled, steamed or pan-fried dumplings, filled with pork, beef, chicken, fish, shrimp, cabbage, scallion, leek or garlic chives, or some combination of the ingredients.
  * Ikameshi—a Japanese dish composed of squid cooked with rice inside. The rice is usually a blend of glutinous and non-glutinous rice. Other ingredients sometimes used as stuffing include minced squid tentacles, bamboo shoots, carrots, and aburaage (A food product made from soybeans).
  * Ikayaki—a fast food; grilled squid topped with soy sauce.
  * Kushikatsu—skewered meat, vegetables or seafood, breaded and deep-fried
  * Miso soup—a soup consisting of dashi stock into which softened miso paste is mixed. Various ingredients may be added, including tofu, nori, scallions, mushrooms, potatoes, onion, shrimp, fish, and grated or sliced daikon.
  * Onigiri—rice balls, either ball- or triangle-shaped. They may be solid rice or filled with fillings such as: tuna with mayonnaise, shrimp with mayonnaise, roasted and crumbled mackerel, tempura, cutlets, umeboshi, squid, roe, salmon, or some other filling.
  * Sashimi—very fresh raw meat or fish sliced into thin pieces.
  * Takoyaki—a ball-shaped snack made of a wheat flour-based batter, filled with octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger, and green onion. After being cooked, they are brushed with takoyaki sauce, and then sprinkled with aonori (green seaweed) and shavings of dried bonito (a type of fish).
  * Tempura—a dish of seafood or vegetables that have been battered and deep-fried.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kusa no Kuni**

  * Balyk—salted and dried soft parts of fish, such as salmon or sturgeon.
  * Baursaki—doughnut-like pastries, consisting of fried dough shaped into either spheres or triangles.
  * Boortsog—a fried dough snack.
  * Cakcak—a sweet made from unleavened dough cut and rolled into hazelnut-sized balls, which are then deep-fried in oil. Hazelnuts or dried fruits may be added to the mixture, or they might not be. The fried balls are stacked in a mound and drenched with hot honey. After cooling and hardening, the mound might be topped with hazelnuts or dried fruits. This is a popular dish at weddings.
  * Chacha—a clear, strong liquor made of grape pomace.
  * Chakapuli—a stew made of onion, lamb chops, dry white wine, tarragon leaves, plum sauce, mixed fresh herbs (parsley, mint, dill, cilantro), garlic and salt.
  * Choila—a dish consisting of spiced grilled meat, usually chicken or duck; it is eaten with beaten rice and is typically quite spicy.
  * Khinkali—a dumpling filled with various fillings, mostly with spiced meat (usually beef and pork, sometimes lamb), greens, and onions. Mushrooms or cheese may be used in place of meat. They are eaten plain, or with black pepper. The khinkali is consumed by first sucking out the juices inside the dumpling, so it doesn’t burst. The top is tough and not meant to be eaten; it is usually left on the plate to keep track of how many someone has eaten.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kaze no Kuni**

  * Coffee



**Special Notes**

  * The real life inspiration of the cuisine of eastern Taki no Kuni is the cuisine of Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. The real-life inspiration of the cuisine of western Taki no Kuni is Austria and Slovenia.
  * The cuisine of western Taki comes from Tsuchi tradition.




	16. Yu no Kuni Cuisine

** Yu no Kuni Cuisine   
**

**Staples**

  * Barley
  * Egg noodles
  * Fish
  * Rice
  * Wheat



**Common Fruits and Vegetables**

  * Apples
  * Blackberry
  * Blackcurrant
  * Blueberries
  * Cabbage
  * Carrot
  * Cherries
  * Cucumber
  * Eggplant
  * Grapefruit
  * Grapes
  * Leeks
  * Lemon
  * Lime
  * Onions
  * Oranges
  * Parsnip
  * Pears
  * Peppers
  * Plums
  * Potato
  * Raspberry
  * Rosehip
  * Spinach
  * Squash
  * Strawberry
  * Sweet potato
  * Tomato
  * Turnip



**Common Meat Sources**

  * Beef
  * Chicken
  * Duck
  * Freshwater fish
  * Goose
  * Mutton/Lamb
  * Pork
  * Quail
  * Rabbit/Hare
  * Saltwater fish
  * Shellfish
  * Venison



**Common Nuts/Legumes/Seeds**

  * Azuki beans
  * Caraway seeds
  * Chestnuts
  * Chickpeas/Garbanzo beans
  * Hazelnuts
  * Lentil
  * Lima bean
  * Pea
  * Sesame seeds
  * Walnuts



**Common Spices**

  * Anise
  * Basil
  * Cardamom
  * Cinnamon
  * Coriander
  * Dill
  * Garlic
  * Ginger
  * Horseradish
  * Mustard
  * Nutmeg
  * Paprika
  * Parsley
  * Pepper
  * Salt
  * Thyme



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Native to the Region**

  * Apple strudel—a sweet layered pastry with a cooked apple, sugar, cinnamon, raisin and bread crumb filling.
  * Arany galuska—a dessert consisting of dumpling balls layered in cakes with vanilla custard-filled pockets.
  * Brudet—a fish stew consisting of several different types of fish. It’s served with barley-meal, which soaks up the fish broth.
  * Caciocavallo—a stretched-curd cheese made out of sheep’s or cow’s milk.
  * Cesnovka—a spicy pork sausage with a garlic taste.
  * Cevapi—a dish of grilled minced meat in a flatbread, often with onions, sour cream, clotted cream, relish, cottage cheese, minced red pepper and salt.
  * Debrecener—a pork sausage of uniform fine texture and reddish-orange color, heavily spiced with paprika, garlic, pepper and marjoram.
  * Djevrek—a ring-shaped bread pastry, covered with sesame seeds. It is typically consumed as a breakfast or snack food.
  * Dobos torte—a five-layer sponge cake, layered with chocolate buttercream and topped with thin caramel slices.
  * Fisherman’s soup—a hot, spicy paprika-based river fish soup, made with carp and other freshwater fish, red onions, green peppers, tomatoes and salt.
  * Fritule—a pastry resembling small doughnuts, usually flavored with brandy and citrus zest, contains raisins, and is topped with powdered sugar.
  * Gibanica—a pastry dish, usually made with white cheese.
  * Gugelhupf—a Bundt cake made out of a yeast dough which contains raisins, almonds, and cherry brandy. Some also contain candied fruit and nuts. The cake may be marbled.
  * Hortobagyi palacsinta—a savory pancake, filled with meat (usually veal).
  * Kabuni—a dessert made of rice fried in butter, mutton broth (ram’s neck only), raisins (rinsed first in warm water), salt and then boiled. After that, sugar, cinnamon and cloves are added. It’s served cold.
  * Kashkaval—a type of yellow cheese made of sheep milk.
  * Kirschwasser—a clear, colorless fruit brandy made from double distillation of morello cherries.
  * Knedla (plural: Knedle)—a dumpling made out of potato dough and filled with fruit, often plums.
  * Komovica—a homemade alcoholic beverage made of grape pomace, meant to be consumed only for medical purposes.
  * Kompot—a non-alcoholic clear juice obtained by cooking fruit in a large volume of water, such as strawberries, peaches, apples, or sour cherries.
  * Krofne—filled doughnuts; typically filled with jelly, marmalade, jam, or chocolate. They may be filled with custard or cream, but that is less common.
  * Krostule—a pastry made by deep-frying the dough.
  * Kruskovac—a hard liquor made by distilling fermented pears. It has a sweet pear aroma and a distinctive yellow color.
  * Lekvar—a thick fruit butter or jam, made of fruits like strawberry, plum, prune, raspberry, cherry or sour cherry.
  * Lesco—a thick vegetable stew which features peppers and tomato, onion, lard, salt, sugar and ground paprika.
  * Maraschino—a clear, bittersweet liqueur made out of Marasca cherries.
  * Mlinci—a thin, dried flatbread.
  * Mortadella—a large sausage made of finely hashed or ground, heat-cured pork sausage. It’s flavored with spices, including black pepper and myrtle berries.
  * Muckalica—a stew made of barbecued meats and vegetables.
  * Palpusztai cheese—a soft cow’s milk cheese, known for its pungent odor.
  * Paski sir—a hard, distinctly-flavored sheep milk cheese.
  * Pastrmajlija—a bread pie made from dough and meat. The dough is fashioned into an oval shape, and then chopped meat (usually mutton or lamb) is put on top of it.
  * Pelinkovac—a bitter liqueur based on wormwood.
  * Punjena paprika—a dish made of peppers stuffed with a mix of meat and rice in tomato sauce, the ingredients consisting of green or red capsicums, eggs, spices, salt, tomato, minced meat and rice.
  * Rab cake—a cake made in the shape of a spiral, whose main ingredients are almonds and Maraschino liqueur.
  * Rozata—a custard pudding flavored with rose liqueur.
  * Sarburma—a meat pie made of fatty lamb or dough.
  * Sarma—grape, cabbage or chard leaves rolled around a filling usually based on minced meat.
  * Sataras—a light stew made of paprika, tomatoes, onions and condiments.
  * Selsko meso—a dish made of pork, onion bits, ground beef, tomatoes, cream cheese, mushrooms, peppers, spices, wine and salt. It is traditionally prepared in a clay pot.
  * Sirene—a brine cheese made out of cow, goat, or sheep (or a combination of the three) milk, with a slightly grainy texture, used as a table cheese.
  * Slatko—a thin fruit preserve made of fruit or rose petals. Almost any fruit can be used. An honored guest might be greeted with a spoonful of slatko and a cup of water.
  * Slivovitz—a distilled beverage made from Damson plums, frequently referred to as plum brandy.
  * Sremska—a sausage made of a mixture of beef and pork, spiced with paprika, black pepper, salt and “secret spices.” It is slightly smoked and medium ground.
  * Tavce gravce—a dish made with beans, onions, oil, red dry pepper, black pepper, salt and parsley.
  * Tave kosi—a dish made of baked lamb and rice, served in a yogurt sauce.
  * Tea
  * Trappista cheese—a semi-hard cow’s milk cheese, with a mild flavor and a low melting point.
  * Tufahije—a dessert made of walnut-stuffed apples stewed in water with sugar.
  * Turos—a cone-shaped cow milk’s cheese, flavored with salt and red paprika, left to dry in smoke or sunlight over a few days.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kaminari no Kuni**

  * Alexandertorte—a dessert consisting of pastry strips filled with raspberry preserves or raspberry jam. It’s typically eaten as a lunch or dinner dessert, but can also be served at tea.
  * Angel wings—a sweet crisp pastry made out of dough that has been shaped into thin twisted ribbons, deep-fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar.
  * Apple wine
  * Babka—a sweet yeast cake. It is spongy and has no filling, but is glazed with a vanilla- or chocolate-flavored icing, and decorated with almonds or candied fruit, sometimes with rum added.
  * Bigos—a hunter’s stew. Typical ingredients include white cabbage, sauerkraut, various cuts of meat and sausage, whole or pureed tomatoes, honey and mushrooms. It may be seasoned with pepper, caraway, juniper berries, bay leaves, marjoram, pimento, dried or smoked plums, and other seasonings. It is usually eaten with mashed potatoes or rye bread.
  * Blintz—a thin, unleavened buckwheat pancake. They may be made plain, or with ingredients such as grated potato, apples or raisins. They may be covered with butter, sour cream, jam, honey or caviar, and then rolled into a crepe. They may be made with a filling of jam, fruit, potato, cottage cheese, cooked ground meat, cooked chicken, chopped mushrooms, bean sprouts, cabbage or onions.
  * Brunost—a caramelized brown whey cheese.
  * Cepelinai—a dumpling made from grated potatoes and typically stuffed with minced meat, although sometimes dry cottage cheese or mushrooms are used instead.
  * Goulash—a stew of meat, noodles and vegetables (particularly potato), seasoned with paprika and other spices.
  * Kissel—a fruit dessert soup, made of sweetened juice, thickened with potato starch; can be served hot or cold.
  * Kleina—a fried pastry. Flattened dough is cut into small trapezoids. A slit is cut in the middle, and then one end pulled through the slit to form a knot. The dough is then deep-fried in oil, traditionally tallow.
  * Krumkake—a waffle cookie made of flour, butter, eggs, sugar and cream. It is made in a special decorative two-sided iron griddle. While still hot, the krumkakes are rolled into small cones around a wooden or plastic cone to gain a cone shape. They can be eaten plain, or with fillings such as whipped cream or other fillings. They are sometimes dusted with powdered sugar.
  * Pierogi—dumplings of unleavened dough, stuffed with potato filling, ground meat, cheese, or fruit.
  * Pirozhki—a baked or fried bun filled with a variety of fillings, such as meat, mushroom, rice and onion.
  * Rosehip soup—a fruit soup made with rosehip, milk, cream and sweet dumplings; served hot during the winter.
  * Rum ball—a truffle-like confection, being sweet, dense balls flavored with chocolate and rum.
  * Rupjmaize—a dark bread made from rye.
  * Sauerkraut—finely cut cabbage fermented by various lactic acid bacteria.
  * Sultsina—a cross between a crepe and a flatbread, made of unleavened rye dough, a rice pudding filling.
  * Sushki—a traditional tea bread; small, crunchy, mildly sweet bread rings that can be eaten for dessert.
  * Syrniki—fried quark pancakes, garnished with sour cream, jam, honey or apple sauce.
  * Vatrushka—a pastry with a ring of dough and cottage cheese in the middle; the dough is typically sweet.
  * Viru valge—a vodka, with many different flavors, ranging from blackcurrant to lemon, and comes in three different degrees of alcohol content: 30%, 40% and 80%. The flavored varieties only come in 38%.
  * Vispipuuro—a sweet pink dessert porridge flavored with lingonberries or other berries, served with milk and sugar.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Tsuchi no Kuni**

  * Bakewell pudding—a dessert consisting of a flaky pastry base with a layer of sieved jam, topped with an egg and almond paste filling (Almonds are imported from Ame no Kuni). It can be served either hot or cold.
  * Bakewell tart—a confection consisting of a shortcrust pastry with a layer of jam and sponge filling with almonds. It can be served warm or cold.
  * Battered sausage—a pork sausage dipped in batter, fried, and usually served with chips.
  * Black Forest Cake—a dessert consisting of several layers of chocolate cake, with whipped cream and cherries between each layer; the top is decorated with whipped cream, cherries and chocolate shavings
  * Black pudding—a type of sausage made by cooking animal blood with a filler until it’s thick enough to congeal when cooled; pig, cow or sheep blood is the most common.
  * Brathering—a simple dish of fried, marinated herring.
  * Bread pudding—a dessert, served hot, usually made with stale bread, and some combination of the following ingredients: milk, egg, suet, sugar or syrup, dried fruit, and spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, mace or vanilla. It may be topped with whipped cream or some sauce such as whiskey sauce, rum sauce or caramel. Is usually sprinkled with sugar and eaten warm in squares or slices.
  * Bread soup—a soup consisting of stale bread in a meat or sausage broth; may add other elements such as onions, spices, egg or bacon
  * Buchteln—sweet rolls made of yeast dough, filled with jam, poppy seeds or curd, and baked in a large pan so they stick together.
  * Buckling—a form of hot-smoked herring. The head and guts are removed, but the roe and milt remain.
  * Coddle—a dish consisting of layers of roughly sliced pork sausages and rashers (thinly slice, somewhat fatty back bacon) with sliced potatoes and onions. It can also include barley.
  * Crubeens—boiled pig’s feet.
  * Cullen skink—a thick soup made of smoked haddock, potatoes and onions.
  * Dampfnudel—a sort of white bread or sweet bread roll, eaten both with a meal and as a dessert.
  * Devilled kidneys—a breakfast dish consisting of lamb’s kidneys cooked in a spiced sauce.
  * Egg and chips—a popular working-class dish, consisting of chips (fried potato chips; by American standards, French fries) served with fried eggs.
  * Egg salad
  * Fish and chips—a fast food dish of battered fish and deep-fried chips (French fries)
  * Fishcake—a filleted fish and potato patty sometimes coated in breadcrumbs or batter, and fried.
  * Fruitcake
  * Glamorgan sausage—a vegetarian sausage, the main ingredients of which are cheese, leeks and breadcrumbs.
  * Hasenpfeffer—a stew made from marinated rabbit or hare, braised with onions and wine in a marinade thickened with the animal’s blood. Seasonings typically include salt, onions, garlic, lemon, thyme, rosemary, allspice, juniper berries, cloves and bay leaves.
  * Hash—a dish consisting of diced meat, potatoes and spices that are then gathered and cooked together, either alone or with onions.
  * Schuxen—an elongated fried dough pastry made from rye flour and yeast.
  * Scouse—a lamb or beef stew. Vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and onions are added.
  * Shepherd’s pie—a meat pie with a crust of mashed potato
  * Skirlie—a dish made from oatmeal fried with fat, onions and seasonings.
  * Skirts and kidneys—a stew made from pork and pig’s kidneys.
  * Strudel—a type of layered pastry with a sweet filling inside; popular fillings include apple, plum, milk cream and cherries.
  * Suckling Pig
  * Summer pudding—a dessert made of sliced white bread, layered in a deep bowl with fruit and fruit juice. The contents of the bowl are left to soak overnight. It’s much easier to make if the bread is somewhat stale. Popular fruit to make it with include: strawberries, raspberries, black and redcurrants, and blackberries.
  * Syllabub—a dessert made from rich milk or cream seasoned with sugar and lightly curdled with wine.
  * Teacake—a light yeast-based sweet bun containing dried fruit, typically toasted and buttered, served with tea.
  * Trifle—a dessert made from thick custard, fruit, sponge cake, fruit juice and whipped cream, arranged in layers.
  * White pudding—a sausage similar to black pudding, except it’s made of fat instead of blood.
  * Zeeuwse bolus—a sweet pastry made by baking dough in a spiral shape and covering it with treacle and cinnamon; the flatter underside is covered with butter.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Hi no Kuni**

  * Akashiyaki—small, round dumplings made of an egg-rich batter and octopus dipped into dashi (a thin fish broth) before eating.
  * Anmitsu—a dessert made of small cubes of agar jelly; served in a bowl with red bean paste boiled peas, and a variety of fruit; usually comes with a small pot of sweet black syrup, which one pours on the jelly before eating.
  * Anpan—sweet roll filled with red bean paste
  * Botamochi—a springtime treat made with sweet rice and red bean paste; the red bean paste is packed around a ball of rice.
  * Butadon—“pork bowl”; a dish consisting of a bowl of rice topped with pork simmered in a mildly sweet sauce. It’s often sprinkled with green peas.
  * Chadango—green-tea flavored dango.
  * Chukadon—a popular fast food dish, consisting of a bowl of rice with stir-fried vegetables, onions, mushrooms, and thin slices of meat on top.
  * Curry
  * Curry bread—deep friend bread filled with curry sauce; can also be filled with sesame or chestnuts
  * Dango—a dumpling made from rice flour, and is often served with green tea. Dango is eaten year-round, but seasonal varieties exist.
  * Donburi—a “rice bowl dish” consisting of fish, meat, vegetables and other ingredients simmered together and over rice.
  * Gyoza—boiled, steamed or pan-fried dumplings, filled with pork, beef, chicken, fish, shrimp, cabbage, scallion, leek or garlic chives, or some combination of the ingredients.
  * Ikameshi—a Japanese dish composed of squid cooked with rice inside. The rice is usually a blend of glutinous and non-glutinous rice. Other ingredients sometimes used as stuffing include minced squid tentacles, bamboo shoots, carrots, and aburaage (A food product made from soybeans).
  * Ikayaki—a fast food; grilled squid topped with soy sauce.
  * Kakigori—a shaved ice dessert flavored with syrup and condensed milk. Popular flavors include: strawberry, cherry, lemon, green tea, grape, melon, and sweet plum. Its texture is similar to fresh fallen snow.
  * Katsudon—a bowl of rice topped with tonkatsu, egg and condiments.
  * Kibi dango—dango made with millet flour.
  * Kuri dango—dango covered in chestnut paste.
  * Miso soup—a soup consisting of dashi stock into which softened miso paste is mixed. Various ingredients may be added, including tofu, nori, scallions, mushrooms, potatoes, onion, shrimp, fish, and grated or sliced daikon.
  * Mitarashi dango—dango (dumplings) skewered onto sticks in groups of 3-5 and covered with a sweet soy sauce. Characterized by its glassy glaze and burnt fragrance.
  * Okonomiyaki—savory pancakes with various meat and vegetable ingredients
  * Onigiri—rice balls, either ball- or triangle-shaped. They may be solid rice or filled with fillings such as: tuna with mayonnaise, shrimp with mayonnaise, roasted and crumbled mackerel, tempura, cutlets, umeboshi, squid, roe, salmon, or some other filling.
  * Pocky—a snack-food, consisting of biscuit-sticks half-covered in some sort of glaze: chocolate, strawberry, grape, azuki bean, caramel, milk tea, cream cheese, berry, sweet potato, coconut, pineapple, pumpkin, hazelnut, blueberry, green tea, apple, honey, milk, or some other glaze.
  * Sake—a fermented rice wine (Though in actuality, it has more in common with beer).
  * Taiyaki—a fish-shaped cake, made of pancake batter, and filled with red bean paste, custard, cheese, chocolate, okonomiyaki, gyoza filling, or sausage (The latter three being the least common).
  * Takikomi gohan—a rice dish seasoned with dashi and soy sauce, along with mushrooms, vegetables, meat or fish.
  * Takoyaki—a ball-shaped snack made of a wheat flour-based batter, filled with octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger, and green onion. After being cooked, they are brushed with takoyaki sauce, and then sprinkled with aonori (green seaweed) and shavings of dried bonito (a type of fish).
  * Tamagozake—a beverage consisting of heated sake, sugar, and a raw egg; often called “egg sake.”
  * Tekkadon—a rice dish topped with thin-sliced raw tuna or salmon sashimi.
  * Tempura—a dish of seafood or vegetables that have been battered and deep-fried.
  * Tofu—bean curd; made by coagulating soy juice and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks.
  * Tonkatsu—deep-fried breaded cutlet of pork.
  * Umeshu—a liqueur made from steeping ume in alcohol and sugar. It has a sweet, sour taste, and an alcohol content of 10-15%.
  * Unagi—grilled and flavored eel
  * Yakitori—skewered chicken.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kaze no Kuni**

  * Arak—a highly alcoholic drink; it is clear, colorless, and flavored with anise.
  * Ayran—cold yogurt beverage mixed with cold water and sometimes with salt.
  * Baklava—a rich, sweet pastry, made of layers of phyllo dough filled with chopped nuts (typically walnuts or pistachios) and sweetened with syrup or honey. It is served cold, at room temperature or re-warmed.
  * Basundi—a dessert made by boiling milk on low heat until the milk is reduced by half; heavy cream may be added to hasten the thickening process. Once reduced, sugar, cardamom and saffron is added. It is garnished with almond and pistachio slices.
  * Bichak—a stuffed baked tri-cornered appetizer served during tea or coffee hour. It can be filled with jam for a sweet taste, or meat and cheese for a savory taste.
  * Falafel—a deep-fried ball made from chickpeas, fava beans, or both.
  * Feta—a brined curd cheese, crumbly, aged, with a salty, mildly sour taste.
  * Gheimeh—a stew consisting of cubed lamb, crushed chickpeas, tomatoes, onion, and dried lime. It is garnished with eggplant and served with rice.
  * Gulab jamun—a cheese-based dessert. It’s mainly made from milk solids, traditionally from freshly curded milk. The solids are kneaded into a dough, and then shaped into small balls and deep fried at a temperature of 148°C. The balls are then soaked in a light sugar syrup flavored with green cardamom and rosewater, kewra or saffron. It can be served hot, cold or at room temperature.
  * Gyro—strips of lamb (or less commonly, chicken), tomatoes, onion and tzatziki in a thick pita wrap. May occasionally have potato in the wrap as well.
  * Halva—a nougat of sesame with almonds.
  * Kheer—a dessert; made by boiling rice with milk and sugar. Kheer is flavored with saffron, pistachios or almonds.
  * Meghli—a dessert based on a floured rice pudding and spiced with anise, caraway and cinnamon. Often garnished with nuts such as almonds, pistachios and walnuts. It is often served to celebrate the birth of a child.
  * Merguez—a red, spicy mutton sausage, heavily spiced with chili peppers, and other spices such as sumac, fennel and garlic. It’s usually eaten grilled or with couscous.
  * Moussaka—a layered dish; ground meat and eggplant or potato casserole, topped with a savory custard browned in the oven
  * Pita bread—a slightly-leavened, flat, wheat, round pocket bread
  * Sharbat—a sweet drink that is prepared from fruit or flower petals. It is served chilled.
  * Tzatziki—a thick sauce or dip, made of strained yogurt, mixed with cucumbers, garlic, salt, olive oil, and sometimes lemon juice, dill, mint or parsley. It is always served cold.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Shimo no Kuni**

  * Alivenci—a custard tart.
  * Amandine—a sponge cake filled with chocolate or almond cream.
  * Banitsa—a breakfast food prepared by layering a mixture of whisked eggs and pieces of cheese between thin pastry. It is served for breakfast with yogurt.
  * Garash—a chocolate and walnut cake.
  * Halusky—a variety of thick, soft noodles or dumplings in a flour and mashed potato batter.
  * Kalach—a braided bread ring.
  * Kielbasa—a smoked sausage, often made of pork, often used in soups.
  * Kutia—a sweet grain pudding made of wheatberries, poppy seeds, honey, sugar, various nuts and sometimes raisins.
  * Kvass—a fermented beverage made from black or regular rye bread; often flavored with strawberries.
  * Lymonnyk—lemon pie.
  * Medovukha—a honey-based alcoholic beverage similar to mead but cheaper and faster to make.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Oto no Kuni**

  * Akki rotti—a breakfast food. Rice flour is mixed with salt and kneaded well to make a soft dough. Sliced onions and carrots, chopped coriander, cumin seeds and sesame seeds are added while kneading the dough. Oil is spread over a griddle, and the dough (with its mixings) is spread across it as to resemble a pancake. It is served hot and eaten alongside chutney. It is also served with butter.
  * Batata vada—potato fritters
  * Beguni—a snack food; eggplant slices deep fried in batter.
  * Chhena—fresh, unripened curd cheese; cottage cheese.
  * Chicken tikka masala—a dish of roasted chicken chunks in a spicy masala sauce. The sauce is usually creamy, spiced and orange-colored.
  * Idli—a savory cake made by steaming a (2 to 3 inch diameter) batter consisting of fermented lentils and rice.
  * Jalebi—a sweet made from deep-frying a wheat flour batter in a circular shape, which is then soaked in sugar syrup.
  * Kadhi—a spicy dish whose thick gravy is based on chickpea flour and contains vegetable fritters called pakoras, to which sour yogurt is added to give it a slightly sour taste. It’s typically served with roti, paratha and rice.
  * Kalakand—a sweet made out of solidified, sweetened milk and chhena.
  * Masala chai—a flavored tea beverage made by brewing black tea with a mixture of aromatic spices, herbs and milk.
  * Mitha dahi—a fermented sweet yogurt; made from milk, sugar, yogurt and curd.
  * Pongal—a breakfast food; rice boiled with milk and jaggery (unrefined sugar)
  * Roti—an unleavened white flatbread.
  * Roti prata—a fried flour-based pancake that is cooked over a flat grill. It is usually served with a vegetable or meat-based curry, but can also be cooked with cheese, onion, chocolate, mushroom or egg.
  * Sandesh—a sweet, pancake-like dessert created with milk and sugar.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Ame no Kuni**

  * Chicken tikka—small pieces of boneless chicken baked using skewers, in a tandoor, after marinating in spices and yogurt. The chicken is brushed with clarified butter at intervals. It is typically eaten with coriander and chutney, and is served alongside onion rings and lemon.
  * Gulkand—a sweet preserve of rose petals.
  * Mattha—a spiced beverage made of buttermilk. Ingredients may include mint, roasted cumin seeds, curry leaves, salt and sugar. It may also be smoked. Mattha is typically served before or after a meal
  * Sher berinj—a rice pudding flavored with rosewater and chopped almonds. It is served chilled as a dessert.
  * Talkhan—a sweet made from walnuts and mulberries. It resembles chocolate, but lighter and coarser.
  * Tikka—a dish made of chicken cutlets in a marinade made from a mixture of spices and yogurt.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Taki no Kuni**

  * Banh re—a street food; sweet potatoes are made into a pancake, deep-fried, then sugared.
  * Bay chhar—fried rice, cooked with sausage, garlic, soy sauce and herbs, and often served with pork.
  * Bosna—a spicy fast food dish. It resembles a hot dog, consisting of a bratwurst sausage, onions, and a blend of mustard, tomato ketchup and curry powder. It’s made with white bread and usually grilled briefly before serving.
  * Bratwurst—a sausage usually composed of veal, pork or beef, usually grilled or pan-fried.
  * Bun cha—a grilled pork noodle soup; white rice noodles and grilled fatty pork in a steamy broth of fish sauce.
  * Com ruou—a dessert. Glutinous rice is cooked, mixed with yeast, and rolled into small balls. The balls are served in a slightly alcoholic, milky-white liquid (essentially a form of rice wine), which also contains small amounts of sugar and salt. The dish is eaten with a spoon.
  * Donauwelle—a sheet cake. A marble pound cake with sour cherries, buttercream, cocoa and chocolate.
  * Eierpunsch—a warm, sweetened alcoholic drink made with egg yolks, sugar, white wine and vanilla. Sometimes cream or custard is added.
  * Esterhazy torte—a cake consisting of buttercream sandwiched between four to five layers of almond meringue.
  * Grass jelly—a jelly-like dessert, made by boiling the aged and slightly oxidized stalks and leaves of Mesona chinensis (a member of the mint family) with potassium carbonate for several hours with a little starch and then cooling the liquid to a jelly-like consistency. The jelly can be cut into cubes or other shapes, and then mixed with syrup to produce a drink or dessert thought to have cooling properties; as such, it is popular during the summer.
  * Kai yang—a street food. Barbecued roast chicken, halved and pounded flat, marinated and grilled over a low heat on a charcoal flame, but not cooked to be burnt or dry. The marinade typically includes fish sauce, garlic, turmeric, cilantro, and white pepper. Other common ingredients include lemongrass, lime, ginger, vinegar and chili.
  * Youtiao—a long, golden-brown, deep-fried strip of dough that is usually eaten for breakfast with sweetened condensed milk.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kusa no Kuni**

  * Baursaki—doughnut-like pastries, consisting of fried dough shaped into either spheres or triangles.
  * Chacha—a clear, strong liquor made of grape pomace.
  * Dovga—a yogurt soup cooked with a variety of herbs (coriander, dill and others) and rice. It’s served warm in winter or cold in summer.
  * Houska—a bread roll topped with poppy seeds, caraway seeds, linseed or salt.
  * Kolache—a pastry that holds a dollop of fruit rimmed by a puffy pillow of supple dough.
  * Kulajda—a soup made with sour cream, potatoes, dill and quail egg. Mushrooms are also added.
  * Masaura—a dehydrated (usually sun-dried) ball of black lentil paste and minced vegetables.
  * Qurabiya—a shortbread-type biscuit made with ground almonds.
  * Tsheringma—an herbal tea taken as a traditional medicine, meant to soothe the nerves.



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kawa no Kuni**

  * Afelia—pork marinated and cooked in red wine with coarsely crushed coriander seed.
  * Aioli—a sauce made of garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and egg yolks. There may be an addition of mustard, pear, or both.
  * Arros negre—a dish made of cuttlefish or squid, white rice, squid ink, garlic, green peppers, sweet paprika, olive oil, and seafood broth.
  * Ashure—a pudding made with grains, fruits and nuts.
  * Galaktoboureko—a dessert of semolina-based custard in phyllo dough.
  * Tarator—a cold soup (or liquid salad) popular in the summer. It’s made of yogurt, cucumber, garlic, walnut, dill, vegetable oil and water.



**Special Notes**

  * The real life inspiration of the food of Yu no Kuni is the food of Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Albania and Hungary.
  * Due to its status as a popular vacation spot, Yu no Kuni has a wide sampling of foreign food.




	17. Shimo no Kuni Cuisine

** Shimo no Kuni Cuisine   
**

**Staples**

  * Barley
  * Fish
  * Millet
  * Pork
  * Potato
  * Rice
  * Wheat



**Common Fruits and Vegetables**

  * Apples
  * Bilberries
  * Blackcurrant
  * Blueberries
  * Cabbage
  * Carrot
  * Cucumber
  * Grapes
  * Leeks
  * Lemon
  * Lime
  * Onions
  * Parsnip
  * Pepper
  * Plum
  * Potatoes
  * Raspberries
  * Rosehip
  * Squash
  * Strawberries
  * Tomato
  * Turnip



**Common Meat Sources**

  * Beef
  * Chicken
  * Duck
  * Freshwater fish
  * Goose
  * Mutton/Lamb
  * Pork
  * Rabbit/Hare
  * Saltwater fish
  * Shellfish
  * Venison



**Common Nuts/Legumes/Seeds**

  * Caraway seeds
  * Chestnuts
  * Hazelnut
  * Lentil
  * Lima bean
  * Pea
  * Walnuts



**Common Spices**

  * Anise
  * Cardamom
  * Chervil
  * Coriander
  * Dill
  * Garlic
  * Mustard
  * Paprika
  * Parsley
  * Pepper
  * Salt
  * Tarragon
  * Thyme



**Notable Dishes and Beverages Native to the Region**

  * Alivenci—a custard tart.
  * Amandine—a sponge cake filled with chocolate or almond cream.
  * Aspic—a dish in which ingredients are set into a gelatin made from a meat stock or consommé. Nearly any type of meat can be used in this dish.
  * Banitsa—a breakfast food prepared by layering a mixture of whisked eggs and pieces of cheese between thin pastry. It is served for breakfast with yogurt.
  * Blintz—a thin, unleavened buckwheat pancake. They may be made plain, or with ingredients such as grated potato, apples or raisins. They may be covered with butter, sour cream, jam, honey or caviar, and then rolled into a crepe. They may be made with a filling of jam, fruit, potato, cottage cheese, cooked ground meat, cooked chicken, chopped mushrooms, bean sprouts, cabbage or onions.
  * Bob chorba—a bean soup made from dry beans, onions, tomatoes, spearmint and carrots.
  * Boza—a fermented beverage made from millet with a thick consistency and a low alcohol content, and has a slightly acidic sweet color.
  * Bryndza—sheep’s milk cheese.
  * Bublik—a bread ring similar to a bagel, but somewhat bigger, with a wider hole a denser, chewier texture.
  * Cabbage roll—a dish consisting of cooked cabbage leaves around a variety of fillings, such as meat seasoned with garlic, onion and spices, grains such as rice and barley, eggs, mushrooms, vegetables, or yogurt.
  * Cevapi—a dish of grilled minced meat in a flatbread, often with onions, sour cream, clotted cream, relish, cottage cheese, minced red pepper and salt.
  * Chiftele—flat, round meatballs made with minced pork meat, mixed with mashed potatoes and spices and deep-fried.
  * Covrigi—a salted bread topped with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, or large salt grains.
  * Creier pane—a dish made by boiling pig’s brains, coating it evenly in flour, egg and breadcrumbs before frying it in oil.
  * Frigarui—small pieces of meat (usually pork, beef, mutton, lamb or chicken) grilled on a skewer, similar to a kebab or yakitori.
  * Garash—a chocolate and walnut cake.
  * Halusky—a variety of thick, soft noodles or dumplings in a flour and mashed potato batter.
  * Kalach—a braided bread ring.
  * Kapusniak—a filling vegetable soup of sauerkraut white cabbage.
  * Kielbasa—a smoked sausage, often made of pork, often used in soups.
  * Kissel—a fruit dessert soup, made of sweetened juice, thickened with potato starch; can be served hot or cold.
  * Koptyka—a kind of potato dumpling, typically served baked with cheese, fried bacon or onion.
  * Kutia—a sweet grain pudding made of wheatberries, poppy seeds, honey, sugar, various nuts and sometimes raisins.
  * Kvass—a fermented beverage made from black or regular rye bread; often flavored with strawberries.
  * Langos—a deep-fried flatbread made of dough with yeast, flour, salt and water.
  * Liverwurst—liver sausage.
  * Lymonnyk—lemon pie.
  * Medovukha—a honey-based alcoholic beverage similar to mead but cheaper and faster to make.
  * Mekitsa—a dish of kneaded dough made with yogurt that’s deep-fried. At breakfast it can be eaten with sugar or honey, or with yogurt.
  * Menta—a sweet mint liqueur
  * Mititei—grilled ground meat rolls, made from a mixture of beef, lamb and pork, with spices such as garlic, black pepper, thyme, coriander, anise, savory and sometimes a touch of paprika.
  * Okroshka—a cold soup, a mix of raw vegetables (like cucumbers and scallions), boiled potatoes, egg, and cooked meat such as beaf, veal, sausage or ham with kvass. Usually garnished with sour cream.
  * Ostropel—a stew made from chicken mixed with a thick tomato sauce.
  * Papanasi—a fried or boiled pastry resembling a small sphere, usually filled with a soft cheese such as urda and any kind of sour jam.
  * Patatnik—a potato dish made of grated potatoes, onion, salt and spearmint, all mixed and cooked on a slow fire. Meat, white cheese or eggs might be added; some also use peppers.
  * Pelmeni—dumplings consisting of a filling in a thin, unleavened dough. The filling can be minced meat (pork, lamb, beef, or any other kind of meat), fish or mushrooms.
  * Pirog—a large pie that can have a sweet or savory filling.
  * Placinta—a pastry resembling a thin, small round or square-shaped cake, usually filled with urda or apples
  * Rasol—a dish made from meat, potatoes and vegetables, boiled together.
  * Salo—cured slabs of fatback.
  * Sarma—grape, cabbage or chard leaves rolled around a filling usually based on minced meat.
  * Sauerkraut—finely cut cabbage fermented by various lactic acid bacteria.
  * Tea
  * Tochitura—a dish, like a stew, made from beef and pork in a tomato sauce.
  * Urda—a fresh white cheese made from whey of sheep, goat or cow.
  * Varenyky—a dumpling made of unleavened dough, stuffed with sauerkraut, cheese, mashed potato, cabbage, meat, hard-boiled egg, or a combination of these, or a fruit filling.
  * Zrazy—a meat dish consisting of thin slices of beef fashioned into a rolled shape, flavored with salt and pepper, stuffed with vegetables, mushroom, egg and potato, and fried in oil for a short period of time.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Kaminari no Kuni**

  * Coulibiac—a fish loaf made of salmon or sturgeon, rice, hard-boiled eggs, mushrooms and dill, baked in a pastry shell.
  * Julskinska—cured ham, boiled and breaded with mustard, bread crumbs and egg.
  * Kalakukko—a dish made of a fish baked inside a loaf of bread.
  * Rollmops—pickled herring fillets rolled into a cylindrical shape, often around a savory filling.



**Some Notable Dishes and Beverages Imported from Yu no Kuni**

  * Brudet—a fish stew consisting of several different types of fish. It’s served with barley-meal, which soaks up the fish broth.
  * Fisherman’s soup—a hot, spicy paprika-based river fish soup, made with carp and other freshwater fish, red onions, green peppers, tomatoes and salt.
  * Mortadella—a large sausage made of finely hashed or ground, heat-cured pork sausage. It’s flavored with spices, including black pepper and myrtle berries.



**Special Notes**

  * The real life inspiration for the food of Shimo no Kuni is the food of Ukraine, Belarus, Romania, Moldova and Bulgaria.




	18. Sunagakure Shinobi Rank Requirements

**Sunagakure Shinobi Rank Requirements**

**Requirements to become Genin**

  * Be able to perform chakra strings.
  * Pass a target-accuracy test for kunai and shuriken (at least seven out of ten of your weapons must hit the target in a “vital” area).
  * Be able to break at least one D-rank genjutsu.
  * Be able to perform the Clone (Bunshin) Technique.
  * Must possess the chakra control necessary to channel chakra to the feet to walk up sheer vertical surfaces or walk on water.
  * Be able to perform the Body Replacement (Kawairimi) Technique.
  * Be able to perform the Transformation (Henge) Technique.



**Requirements to become Chunin (if not taking the inter-village Chunin Exams)**

  * Be able to perform the Body Flicker (Shunshin) technique.
  * Be able to perform at least two C-Rank elemental ninjutsu techniques.
  * Be able to cast at least one C-Rank genjutsu.
  * Be able to last at least twenty seconds against a jonin-level taijutsu specialist.



**Requirements to become Jonin**

  * The jonin exams in Suna have both a written and a practical section.
  * The written section may include questions such as these (all short-answer): 
    * Name the ingredients of a particular complex poison, and the process by which that poison is made.
    * Describe the symptoms of three different types of poisonings.
    * Describe the process by which chakra is channeled and moulded to perform elemental ninjutsu.
    * List the five major chakra arteries, and the effects that will be experienced if they are damaged (Include specifics for each artery).
    * Describe the philosophy and attitudes of at least three schools of taijutsu.
    * Describe the process by which a complex genjutsu is cast and maintained. Include specifics.
  * There will be fifteen short-answer questions on the written exam. Jonin hopefuls will be given an hour to complete them. They must answer at least twelve correctly in order to move on to the practical section of the exam.
  * The practical section requires: 
    * Mastery of at least three B-Rank elemental ninjutsu techniques of two different elements.
    * The ability to cast at least two B-rank genjutsus.
    * The ability to last at least forty seconds against a jonin-level taijutsu specialist.
    * The ability to mix together a lethal poison within a time limit.
    * Average mastery of at least one other skill, such as medical ninjutsu, summoning, sealing, puppetry, kenjutsu, tessenjutsu and so on.
  * If the jonin hopeful passes the written portion, and fails the practical portion, but shows jonin-level skill in a particular area (such as ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, medical ninjutsu, puppetry, so on), they may be awarded the status of Tokubetsu jonin, if the proctors consider it wise to do so.



**Requirements to become a Puppeteer**

  * Be a shinobi of at least genin rank.
  * Pass a written exam.
  * Once they have taken the written exam, the puppeteer hopeful must show themselves capable of manipulating a simple puppet (This necessitates some level of apprenticeship before having taken the exams).



**Requirements to become a Medic**

  * Field licensing: 
    * Two years apprenticeship under a field licensed medic, and competency in these fields of study: 
      * Anatomy
      * CPR
      * Disease and Illness
      * Medicinal Plants of the Continent
      * Physiology
      * Poisonous Plants of the Continent
      * Poisons and their Antidotes
      * Trauma
      * Venomous Amphibians, Arachnids, Insects and Reptiles of the Continent
  * Hospital licensing: 
    * If already field licensed: four year apprenticeship under a hospital licensed medic, and competency in these fields of study: 
      * Biochemistry
      * Childbirth
      * Embryology
      * Histology
      * Immunology
      * Microbiology
      * Neuroanatomy
      * Pathology
      * Pharmacology


  * If skipping field licensing: five years apprenticeship under a hospital licensed medic, and competency in all the fields of study listed above.




	19. The Way of the Sage of Six Paths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, I decided that, since the Sage of Six Paths is referred to as the God of Shinobi and is treated as such an important figure in shinobi history (even if he was only introduced later in the game), it makes sense that, in-universe, there would be a religion surrounding him. Thus I have written up an article surrounding the beliefs and customs of this religion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [CN/TW: References to genocide; also, this religion is not particularly friendly to childless or child-free people.]
> 
> Another note: Kaguya and Hamura do not exist in my head-canon of Naruto, so this article reflects that.

** The Way of the Sage of Six Paths **

The Way of the Sage of Six Paths was a religion that sprung up circa 150 AGB (After the Great Burning). The religion centered around the Sage of Six Paths, acclaiming him as a god, one who shaped the world into its current state and brought forth an era of peace after centuries of devastating warfare. The Sage is hailed as the giver of life and wisdom to the world, and as the first of humanity capable of consciously manipulating chakra. He saved the world from the terror of the Juubi, he taught humanity how to manipulate chakra, and he (allegedly) left specific instructions for how humanity was to live their lives.

** Central Tenets of the Faith **

  1. Chakra is the origin of life. It flows through all living things, and without it, no life could exist.



 

  1. Chakra may be manipulated by anyone. However, it must never be used to harm your fellow man—it may only be used to better the lives of those around you.



 

  1. Harmony is the natural, and best, state of the world. If you and your neighbor are in dispute with one another, let your dispute be solved peacefully, rather than with violence.



 

  1. Do violence against no one, unless in defense of yourself or another.



 

  1. Commit theft against no one. By depriving someone of their belongings, you do them violence, even if you have not harmed them personally.



 

  1. Amass no debt owed to others, be it through gambling or through the borrowing of money to cover other expenses.



 

  1. Begrudge no one what it is that they require in times of great need. If you find a starving man, feed him. If you find a man dying of thirst, given him water to drink. If you have the resources to aid a person in such a situation, and yet choose not to, you have committed violence against them.



 

  1. Upon death, your soul will separate from your body, to either journey to the Pure Land, or to wander the earth as a ghost. Your chakra will again become one with the earth and replenish it.



** Indra and Asura **

Indra and Asura, the Sage’s sons, are decidedly shadowy figures in the faith. They are generally accepted to have existed, and certainly the Uchiha clan claims descent from Indra, and the Senju clan descent from Asura. But there is little information to be found on them anywhere, either in religious or secular texts. It is known that before the Sage died, Asura was named his heir in spite of Indra being the elder brother, and thusly the rightful heir. The reasoning for this decision is, at best, unclear. Some sources say Indra displeased his father with his aggressive behavior, while others assert that Asura deceived their father into believing that Indra had betrayed him in some way. What is known is that the brothers parted ways after their father’s death, and dropped out of the pages of history.

** The Juubi and the Nine Bijuu **

The Juubi is heralded as the great calamity ever to come out of the pages of history. It was born from the ashes of the terrible wars that brought humanity to its knees, a creature born of human malice and despair. With its tremendous power, the Juubi threatened to utterly destroy an already-ravaged world. It was only by the great power of the Sage that it was subdued. The Sage sealed the Juubi’s life force into himself, and there are even those who say that he took the Juubi’s now-empty body and fashioned the moon from it (Though whether this is the stuff of history or folklore is a matter of not a little debate).

It is known that as the Sage neared the end of his life, he began to fear that the Juubi would escape and reconstitute elsewhere if he died while its life force was still inside of him. The Juubi’s chakra was too powerful to be destroyed, and no one but the Sage could withstand carrying it within his flesh; neither could it be safely imprisoned in any inanimate object. In an attempt to avert disaster, the Sage created nine monsters of lesser power, beasts that normal humans could subdue if they lived up to the monstrous reputation of their ‘parent.’

These beasts were the nine bijuu, the nine tailed beasts. They are the Ichibi no Tanuki (also known as Shukaku), the Nibi no Bakeneko, the Sanbi no Kyodaigame, the Yonbi no Saru, the Gobi no Irukauma, the Rokubi no Namekuji, the Shichibi no Kabutomushi, the Hachibi no Ushi-oni, and the Kyuubi no Youko. In the millennia since their creation and the Sage’s demise, they have proven themselves time and again to be the true inheritors of the Juubi’s malice, and are reviled by all, even those who have attempted to harness their power for the sake of their own lands.

** The Priests of the Sage of Six Paths **

The Way of the Sage (a shortened name commonly used for the religion) never grew to be a major religion in the lands of the Shinobi Nations. The religion was mostly spread through its priests and priestesses, who settled both on the mainland and offshore, in Uzu no Kuni. There was no restriction on who could become a priest—men, women and non-binary people could do it, as could rich and poor, young and old.

A priest’s typical duties were numerous. They maintained the temple they were associated with, keeping the idol clean and periodically washing the braided mats laid down on the temple floor (In Uzu no Kuni, this was the duty of the acolytes, instead). They advised their community laypeople on how to live virtuous lives, and taught them prayers, such as the prayer a woman wishing for children would say, or someone hoping that a loved one would return from a long journey safely would say. The priests performed purification rites at births and deaths; they assigned the proper act of penance to someone who had broken one of the central tenets, and performed purification rites for the penitent to complete their absolution. The priest performed wedding ceremonies and made offerings to various ends, such as the offerings made on religious holidays, those made to help ensure happy marriages for newlyweds and long lives for infant children.

The priests all wore similar clothing—a plain, long-sleeved, loose-fitting single garment, a robe of thin cotton (wool in the winter months) with magatama embroidered around the collar. The priests of Uzu no Kuni wore white robes with red embroidery; the priests of the mainland, green robes with golden embroidery. They might also wear belts, shawls, aprons or cloaks over their robe. Acolytes in Uzu no Kuni wore a plain, brown robe, also made of thin cotton (And also wool in the winter).

The priests were bound to uphold the central tenets of their faith, and had to perform acts of penance and undergo purification rites to be absolved of the sin, twice that a layperson would undergo, as priests were held to higher standards of behavior than were laypeople. For instance, if they withheld food from the hungry, their penance would be to fast for four days, and eat only meal for a week following that. If they committed theft, they must return what they stole and give their services to their victim for a full month.

There was only one offense that could cause a priest to be stripped of their priesthood, and that was to commit violence in violation of the oaths they swore. All priests of the Sage of Six Paths swore oaths of non-violence against their fellow man, to be broken only if their temple was defiled by violence, or even not at all. To have blood on their hands was for a priest to pollute themselves beyond absolution. They could perform an act of penance, but only as a lay person, and no longer could they set foot in a temple—as a defiled former priest, they would defile any holy place they touched.

The Division

Long ago, circa 1520 AGB, a sect of priests left by the mainland in hopes of bringing their faith to Uzu no Kuni. As time wore on, certain differences arose between the sect of priests that went to Uzu no Kuni, and the priests who remained on the mainland.

_The Priests of Uzu no Kuni_

The priests of Uzu no Kuni arrived on the island circa 1520 AGB, where they were promptly embraced by the non-shinobi populace as they had never been on the mainland. They were even able to make some connections with the shinobi of the land, quickly forming a close working relationship with the Uzumaki clan.

The Uzumaki clan taught the priests ninjutsu, which they adapted and put to work for the good of the people. A priest could use ninjutsu to light a hearth fire when all the wood was wet, plough a field in minutes rather than hours, and quickly raise temporary flood walls if a river was in danger of bursting its banks. There was even a report of a priest being capable of calling down rain out of a clear blue sky, in order to end a drought—however, such a feat is considered more fitting for the annals of folklore than of history.

The Uzumaki clan also taught the priests of the Sage fuinjutsu, and the priests learned those lessons well. With and without Uzumaki collaboration, the priests developed many new seals over the centuries, all intended to better the lives of the people around them. The priests’ greatest achievement in this field of endeavor were a series of seals that allowed those who used them to store a variety of perishable food items for months at a time, alleviating the concerns of many regarding food security, and all but eliminating the need for salting, pickling or drying foods to preserve them.

Worship of the Sage declined over the centuries, and in time the priests became known more as skilled sealing masters than pious holy men. With the destruction of Uzu no Kuni in 2540 AGB came the deaths of all the Sage’s priests who lived there, the destruction of their temples, and the loss of nearly all of the seals they had created and innovated.

_The Priests of the Mainland_

Those priests who remained on the mainland did not reap the rewards in terms of knowledge gained that their counterparts in Uzu no Kuni did. They knew nothing of ninjutsu or fuinjutsu; they did not enjoy a good enough relationship with the shinobi of the land to learn from them. The priests of the mainland were taught to fight with swords instead. It was believed that such training would hone and focus the mind, and furthermore that being capable of delivering violence, and yet choosing _not_ to do so, was a worthy test of a priest’s virtue. Those priests whose vows permitted them to defend their temple did so with their sword.

The number of priests of the Sage of Six Paths, and their followers, dwindled over the centuries. The teachings that the priests espoused ran contrary to the way of the shinobi, and the priests and shinobi often butted heads over the latter’s violent use of chakra. Many daimyos and warlords targeted the priests for extermination (they found the priests’ teachings to be a threat to their main source of revenue—shinobi), until finally only a small pocket of priests were left in Ame no Kuni. There the priests continued to teach and disseminate their wisdom, and there, they still found people to listen to them.

During the Second Shinobi World War, Hi no Kuni, Kaze no Kuni, and Tsuchi no Kuni chose to fight one another on Ame no Kuni’s soil; better to devastate a minor country than risk any damage done to their own resources. Ame no Kuni soon found itself dragged into the war, with the country’s leader, Hanzo, furiously trying to repel the floods of invaders that had violated the sanctity of his borders. The priests, owing to their vows of non-violence, mostly stayed out of the war, though there were a few who broke their vows and went to fight off the invaders as well.

Shimura Danzo, then-commander of the Konohagakure no Sato ANBU Black Ops., had received false intelligence that the priests of Ame no Kuni possessed the same capabilities in ninjutsu as their counterparts in Uzu no Kuni. Fearing that the priests would throw in their lot with Tsuchi or Kaze no Kuni, Danzo gave the order for the priests’ extermination, to be carried out covertly by the ANBU Black Ops. By the end of the war, his men had finished their work. There were no more priests in Ame no Kuni. The years wore on, and the number of those who worshipped the Sage finally dwindled to nothing—there was no one left to teach the wisdom of the already-dying Faith.

_The Priests of Ame no Kuni and Paper_

Though they learned nothing that could be termed ‘normal’ elemental ninjutsu, the priests of Ame no Kuni did develop a form of ninjutsu on their own. They learned how to channel chakra through paper to make the paper do their bidding. The paper was not animate, and was only capable of carrying out simple commands, but it proved invaluable as a means of communication. The priests swore never to use this ability to violent ends. However, a shinobi of Ame no Kuni named Konan, who was the daughter of a priestess and was taught this ability before her mother was killed, was able to find a way to harness this ability for use in combat.

** Places of Worship **

The priests maintained temples where those who worshipped the Sage could pray, make offerings, and consult with the priests. The idol and the braided mats were features common to all temples. The idol was a representation of the Sage of Six Paths, a stone statue of a man, typically the same size as an average adult male human, though larger idols were known to exist. The idol sat cross-legged, hands outstretched, palms up. It wore a robe similar to that of the priests’, but it wore a necklace with magatama on it, instead of having magatama impressed directly upon the robe. The idol’s face was left uncovered and totally featureless, reflective of the fact that chakra was something common to all life, and cannot be associated with any single person, not even the Sage.

The braided mats were rectangular in shape, of varying size, though typically somewhere around five feet by two feet, made of cotton cloth and green in color (The shade of green was highly variable; a single shade was never definitively agreed upon, and different dyes were available in different regions). It was believed that if someone’s bare feet touched the floor of the temple, it would be defiled (it being further believed that the feet carried longest the impurity left behind in the earth from battles long past), so the mats were laid down to act as a buffer between the floor of the temple and the temple-goer’s feet. Furthermore, before entering the temple, the temple-goer had to leave their shoes in an antechamber and rinse their feet in a long, wooden trough of water found in the antechamber. The water in the trough was changed at least once a day, and more often than that if there was enough traffic through the temple.

The temples in Uzu no Kuni were massive ziggurats that towered over most of the other buildings surrounding them. They were constructed of limestone and were situated so that their four entrances faced due north, south, east and west. The west entrance was the main entrance, marked as the most important, as it was believed that the Sage of Six Paths had come to the Shinobi Nations form the west of the world. The priests and their acolytes lived in cells in the temples, took their meals in the temple, and taught the wisdom of their faith, ninjutsu and fuinjutsu in the temple.

The temples on the mainland were significantly humbler affairs. They were typically the same size as one of the houses that surrounded it—indeed, oftentimes they _were_ old houses that had had most of the internal walls (if there were any) knocked out—so building materials varied wildly. The priests did not live in the temples; instead, they maintained their own residences, often nearby the temple, though not always. The temples typically had but one entrance, and did not necessarily face due west, or north or west or east.

Barring religious holidays, the temple’s doors opened at sunrise and closed at sunset. If lighting was an issue, rounded glass lanterns painted green would be hung from hooks on the ceiling, and candles placed inside.

** Hierarchy in the Priesthood **

There was a single high priest in Uzu no Kuni, who possessed four deputies; these deputies were chosen from the priesthood, and were chosen based on skill and piety, rather than seniority. Below them were the priests, who ranked in authority based on seniority, and below them, the acolytes, who were the priests’ apprentices and were responsible for such duties as cleaning the temple and cooking the meals. If there was a dispute concerning doctrine, the high priest would summon the most senior priests of the land to discuss the matter and reach a solution.

Once, the hierarchy on the mainland was similar to that on Uzu no Kuni. However, it broke down as the pockets of priests became more isolated from each other. The priests of Ame no Kuni had no hierarchy, and operated independently of one another. Priests and acolytes shared in the same duties. They stayed in communication with each other, but once the Second Shinobi World War started, even that broke down.

** Views on the Afterlife **

Those who worshipped the Sage believed that when someone died, it was possible for their soul to travel to the Pure Land, if they had lived a virtuous life. The Pure Land is the abode of the virtuous dead; it is a place free of danger, sorrow, toil and want. The virtuous dead are reunited with all their loved ones who have traveled there as well, and will find all the impurities of life stripped away.

By contrast, those who did not live virtuous lives supposedly find their souls trapped in the living world, unable to move on. There was some debate as to whether this was an eternal punishment or, if after reaching enlightenment and spending sufficient time in penance, the soul would be released and allowed to move on to the Pure Land.

A matter of greater debate (indeed, this was one of the largest sources of division in the faith) was whether the soul was capable of reincarnating into a new body after death. Over the millennia, there were many reports of people who followed the Way of the Sage who believed that they were the reincarnated souls of people long dead, usually great heroes or an ancestor of the person in question. However, there is no way to prove that reincarnation exists, and as the Sage himself never spoke of the phenomenon, some priests argued that souls are not in fact capable of reincarnating.

It was generally held that the only proper way of disposing of a corpse after death was by cremation, as the soul did have ties to the body, and those ties would be more difficult to break if the body was not destroyed. However, in cultures where burial or other funerary customs that did not involve cremation were widely practiced, or where cremation was taboo or a fate reserved for the bodies of social ‘undesirables’, cremation was unlikely to be practiced by anyone who worshipped the Sage, barring priests.

** Penance and Absolution **

If someone broke one of the central tenets of the faith, the only way they could be absolved of the sin was by performing a penance, as prescribed by a priest. Typically, the penance was meant to address the specific tenet broken, and to make restitution to the person victimized, if anyone was victimized. As mentioned earlier, a priest’s prescribed penance was twice that of what would be prescribed to a layperson, as priests were held to higher standards of behavior than were laypeople. When a priest was found to have broken one of the central tenets, another priest had to be called in to determine what the appropriate penance was to be.

Some examples of typical penances are as follows:

  1. If a layperson has the resources to give a beggar food when the beggar asks for it, and yet chooses not to do so, their penance will be to fast for the next two days, eating nothing and drinking nothing but water, and eat nothing but meal for the next four days after that. (If the penitent has some sort of health condition that made this impossible for them, allowances would be made.)



 

  1. If someone has willfully injured another person for any reason but that of self-defense, their penance will be to be forbidden to speak to or touch anyone for the next two days, or longer, depending on the severity of the injury. After that, they must pay restitution to their victim, in an amount that will vary based on the severity of the injury, and make a formal apology to them.



 

  1. If someone finds themselves in debt on account of their gambling, their penance will be to lose control of their money until their debts have been paid. Indeed, their financial affairs will be placed in the hands of a trustworthy relative or friend (with the priest supervising, to ensure that this ‘trustworthy’ person _remains_ trustworthy), who will manage the paying of the debts and ensure that only _essential_ goods are bought until the debts are paid off. If any of the debtor’s family were harmed by the events that resulted in or followed from the debtor going into debt, the debtor must pay restitution to them to complete their penance.



Once the prescribed penance was completed, the penitent was required to submit themselves to the priest. The priest and the penitent reviewed the latter’s sin and penance for it together, and the priest advised the penitent of how to live a more virtuous life in the future, before performing the rite of absolution. The rite of absolution involved the penitent putting first their feet, then the crown of their head, in a bucket of water purified by boiling (the water was allowed to cool before the rite began) while the priest prayed over them. This way the penitent’s feet, regarded as the most impure part of their body, and their mind, the origin of both good and evil acts, would be cleansed.

If someone was known to have broken one of the central tenets, and did not submit themselves to a priest to do penance and receive absolution, heavy pressure would be brought to bear on them by members of the community who shared their faith. The offending person would not be allowed inside the temple, would be barred from attending festivities related to religious holidays and weddings, and might well be shunned by their neighbors. If the person in question died while in this state of limbo without even expressing a desire to do penance, the local priests would be within their rights to refuse to do the traditional funerary rites, and refuse to say any prayers or make any offerings for the deceased’s soul.

It should be noted that for those tenets whose violation would constitute a crime in the eyes of the local judicial authority, penance and absolution were meant to _accompany_ legal punishment, not replace it. Note also for that the crimes of rape and murder, if it came to pass that someone sought penance for these crimes, and was yet able to escape justice in a secular court, upon completing their penance the criminal would be exiled from the community by the priest, on pains of being forever barred from entering a temple, receiving absolution in the future, and having the proper funerary rites done after their death.

** Prayers and Offerings **

Prayers were made to the Sage, sometimes in conjunction with offerings, in order to show devotion to the Sage and, at times, to achieve a specific purpose as well.

A prayer made purely to show devotion required no offering. They could be made within the temple or outside of it, and followed no formula, and required no preparation. If the one making the prayer truly made this prayer for the sole purpose of expressing devotion, they might find that they experienced better fortune for a short while afterwards. However, if such a prayer was made with ulterior motives, at best, nothing would happen (the most likely outcome for prayers of this kind made _without_ ulterior motives), and at worst, the person making the prayer would find that fortune had turned against them, at least for a while.

As for prayers made with a specific purpose in mind, there was a certain formula that had to be followed. While it was believed that the Sage heard all prayers made to him, it was more likely that the prayer would be answered if the formula was adhered to.

The prayer could be made in the temple or in the person’s home, though if the purpose of the prayer was such that an offering was required, the home was where the prayer would be made—temples had no hearth fires. The person wishing to make the prayer was advised to consult with a priest over several matters regarding the prayer. Was the proposed topic an appropriate one, and if not, why not? Was there a similar topic that would be more appropriate? What sort of offering was to be made, if any? Traditionally, offerings were always burned in a hearth fire (though if no hearth fire was available, an open fire would suffice), and though the offering was usually a small amount of food, it was sometimes something like an old (or new) piece of clothing, a piece of paper with the writer’s vices written on it, or anything to the effect that the person making the prayer would be offering to give up something of theirs. Then, the priest would tell them the recommended structure of the prayer (Though deviations from this structure were not automatically condemned). First, give thanks to the Sage for healing the earth and guarding it from the Juubi’s malice; second, state clearly what it was they were praying for; third, give thanks to the Sage again, and ask that the prayer be fulfilled.

Examples of appropriate topics for such a prayer:

  1. The health, safety, and/or general well-being of a loved one.
  2. That the soul of a recently deceased person would reach the Pure Land.
  3. That someone struggling with one of the central tenets would overcome their difficulties and be able to live a more virtuous life.
  4. That there would be a good harvest come harvest time.
  5. That a war would come to an end.
  6. To pray for the health, safety, and/or general well-being of the community as a whole.
  7. To pray for the health, safety, and/or general well-being of oneself, provided that in doing so, another person’s well-being was not put at risk.



Examples of inappropriate topics for such a prayer:

  1. Prayers attempting to bring harm down on another.
  2. Prayers for one’s own well-being, at the expense of another’s.
  3. Prayers for wealth.
  4. Prayers for luck, especially luck in gambling.
  5. A prayer with the aim of making someone fall in love with another person.



** Holy Books **

The priests of the mainland had no holy books; they passed their knowledge down orally. However, the priests of Uzu no Kuni kept books regarding the life and death of the Sage of Six Paths, books regarding prayers and offerings, books regarding supernatural phenomena believed to be connected to the Sage, and so on. With the rise of printing presses, these books were widely disseminated in Uzu no Kuni, but all were lost with the destruction of Uzu no Kuni.

** Dietary Restrictions **

There were no dietary restrictions made on laypeople. Priests sometimes made vows to the effect of not eating meat, or eggs, or dairy products, but rarely did they ever swear vows to the effect of veganism.

** Religious Holidays **

There weren’t too many days of religious observance associated with the Way of the Sage. However, those that existed are listed below.

  1. The Day of Victory—a day of festivities surrounding the anniversary of the Sage’s defeat of the Juubi. Traditionally held on the third new moon of the year. The whole community prepared food for a festival in whatever gathering place they had besides their temple—sometimes the civil authorities allowed them the use of a town square or community center, but sometimes the festival had to be held in the yard surrounding the temple, or at times even inside the temple (It was generally considered better that festivals were not held inside the temple, as many would likely forget to cleanse themselves before entering, but in times of need, the temple doors were opened). The highlights of the festival included pageants performed by children reenacting, to their best ability, the defeat of the Juubi, and prayers of thanksgiving made to the Sage come midnight.



 

  1. The Day of Renewal—a day of observance commemorating the Sage making the moon from the Juubi’s empty body and putting the world to rights. Traditionally held on the fourth new moon of the year, and held only on the mainland of the shinobi nations. Participants made offerings of food preserved from the previous winter in their homes, which were burned in their hearth fire, a ritual which is believed will send the food to the Pure Land, where it will reach its intended recipient. Participants then made prayers to the Sage, with the intent that the year’s harvest would be plentiful.



 

  1. The Day of Reflection—a day of observance regarding what was traditionally held to be the Sage’s date of death, the last Friday of December. Regarded by worshippers of the Sage to be the last day of the old year, they would endeavor to stay awake the whole night in quiet reflection. This was a time to reflect upon the previous year, on what someone had done wrong, what they had done right, and what could be done better. The following morning, if someone was in dispute with another person, and this dispute had carried over from the previous year, the involved parties were encouraged to seek each other out and lay aside their differences.



** Birth Rites **

When a child was born to parents who practiced the Way of the Sage, a priest was called upon to perform specific rites.

First, the house would be cleansed. It was believed that childbirth, specifically the spilling of blood associated with it, polluted the area where it took place. To cleanse the house, all the windows (if there were any) and all the doors leading to the outside were opened, and left open. Then, the priest smeared water purified by boiling, mixed with crushed mint, on the doorways and windowsills. After that, they lit a stick of incense and moved through every room in the building where the child (or children) had been born, allowing the incense to fill up the entire building.

After the building was attended to, the priest moved on to the newborn child (Or children). The priest said prayers over the newborn, smearing their forehead and the soles of their feet with the same mixture of purified water and crushed mint that was spread on the doorways and windowsills. The priest took an offering specially prepared for the occasion (what this offering was varied based on region—in Uzu no Kuni, salted rice cakes were offered, whereas in Ame no Kuni bread topped with honey, or fresh fruit if the season was right, was offered) and delivered it to the hearth fire, accompanied by a prayer to the Sage for the newborn’s health.

A week after the child was born, if they were still alive, their parents took the baby to the temple to receive further blessings, this time in sight of the idol. This was also an opportunity for the baby to be introduced to other members of the community.

** Death and Funerary Rites **

The rites performed after someone of the faith died mirrored the birth rites in many ways. The priest was typically called in _after_ someone died, rather than before. It was believed that there was no use in having a priest present when someone laid dying; by that time, it was too late for any penance to be performed, and prayers for their well-being could be said at the temple just as easily as they could in the home of the dying person.

After the death was confirmed and a priest called for, the priest made their way to the house of the deceased (Or the building they died in, if not at home). The doorways and windowsills were smeared with a mixture of purified water and crushed mint, as were the foreheads and palms of anyone who happened to be in the building with the deceased when they died.

There was no incense burned; it was believed that the only thing that could rid a place of the pollution of death was time, and no amount of incense could cover it up. Anyone who had been in the house when the deceased died was barred from leaving for half a day; anyone who had been in the same room as the deceased, a full day. If the living needed food and water brought to them for their period of confinement, the priest saw to it; meanwhile the corpse was taken to the local mortuary (or equivalent thereof) in preparation for burial.

Provided there was no impediment to doing so, the priest would say prayers over the corpse, to the effect of helping to ensure that the deceased’s soul would make it to the Pure Land. An offering of food, typically plain rice or unleavened bread, would be made to the Sage, to be burned with the corpse when it was cremated. Cremations typically took place as soon as the family’s period of confinement (provided that they needed to be confined) was complete.

** Wedding Rites **

In the eyes of the priests of the Sage, the only requirement for marriage was the consent, freely given, of the parties involved, provided they were adults. Arranged marriages that were to take place against the will of one or both parties would not be conducted by the priests; the couple would have to be married by someone from outside of the faith. Furthermore, by the laws of the Sage, no one below the age of fifteen was permitted to marry. If one or both parties was still a child, the priest might declare them betrothed instead of holding a wedding ceremony. The couple would remain betrothed until both parties were of age; it was permissible for them to break the betrothal during this time period, provided that the couple informed the priest of their intention to break their engagement. It was also preferred that both parties entering into marriage shared the same faith, with those who were not of the faith of the Sage being encouraged to convert.

The wedding would take place a month after the couple announced their intentions to the priest. The priest announced the impending marriage to the village, meaning theoretically that no one could now separate the couple (though in practice, angry parents and other authority figures have been known to pressure couples into abandoning any dreams of marriage even after this point), and then the priest, the couple, and their families (if they had any) set to preparing for the wedding.

The priest made an offering to the Sage every day for twelve days before the wedding was to take place. The offering was of fresh fruit (though dried was acceptable when no fresh fruit was available) and was burned in a small fire lit outside the door of the temple. Depending on the region, either cedar or juniper logs were used for the fire. These offerings were made to help ensure that the marriage would be a happy and successful one, that the couple would not find reason to separate from one another, and that neither would one die significantly sooner than the other.

The couple and their families needed to prepare as well. A couple had to wear all new clothes on the day of their wedding; they could wear nothing that they had worn before. Color did not matter, and neither did quality, but the clothes had to be _new_. A feast also had to be prepared, large enough that everyone in the community (or everyone invited, in Uzu no Kuni) could eat comfortably. No meat could be served at this feast, and all the food had to be cooked; nothing could be served raw.

On the day of the wedding, come the evening, the couple would go to the temple while the feast was set up outside of it. Inside the temple, the couple would be asked these questions by the priest. Do you come to this place of your own free will? Do you wish to be wed to one another? Do you vow to support each other in times of need? Do you vow to protect each other, and offer no harm to the other? Do you vow to help your spouse upheld the central tenets of our faith? Do you vow to love no other while you are bound in marriage? Once these questions were answered, the priest laid their hand on both of the couple’s heads in turn, and said one last prayer over them, praying for their happiness in the future.

Outside, the wedding feast commenced once the newlyweds emerged from the temple, and usually lasted long into the night. Rain was considered an especially inauspicious event at weddings in Uzu no Kuni, though in Ame no Kuni, this was not the case; rain at a wedding was common enough there that tents were typically set up around the temple in preparation for the feast. A bonfire blazed in the feasting area no matter the weather, and at midnight, the couple would change back into their old clothes and toss their wedding clothes into the fire together, signifying that their fates were now bound together.

** Sex, Marriage and Family **

Sex and pregnancy outside of wedlock was not condemned in the faith unless it involved adultery or rape. Likewise, abortion, though not approved of, was not forbidden. The knowledge of the faith held that life did not begin until a living thing drew its first breath; therefore, an abortion would do no harm against anything living, and did not constitute violation of any of the central tenets. The priests supported the permissibility of sex and pregnancy outside of wedlock, and abortion, even when secular authorities and the religious authorities of other faiths in the area did not, which led to friction between them.

Priests were not required to swear vows of celibacy; in fact, in Ame no Kuni, where priests typically trained their children to be priests after them, priests were widely discouraged from swearing such vows. As sex was not considered forbidden or sinful in and of itself, a priest did not defile themselves in any way by having sex (Provided that it was not rape, or adulterous).

The wedding rites have already been detailed above. After the wedding, the married couple, if they were capable of doing so, was encouraged to have children as soon as possible. Children were seen as a blessing from the Sage; a couple without them was speculated to have angered the Sage, and a couple who actively chose not to have children was considered ‘unnatural.’

It was forbidden to cause physical harm to children in the course of disciplining them; though children were expected to be obedient, parents were supposed to be their child’s protector, not the person their child needed to be protected from. Curiosity was a trait encouraged in children, as were respect, gentleness, patience and understanding.

Divorce was permitted, but only after certain conditions were met. If someone believed that they or their children were in danger of being killed or injured by their spouse, or if they already had been injured by their spouse, they had only to say as much to the priest, and a divorce would be granted, after the accuser swore a vow to the effect that they would suffer defilement that could not be washed away, if they were lying. Divorce on account of adultery or abandonment was also granted immediately.

If abuse had not taken place and was considered unlikely to take place, the situation was different. If one party wished for a divorce and the other didn’t, the priest would send away the party wishing for divorce, urging them to reflect on this decision, and summon them back once a month for the next three months, asking them if they had changed their minds. If, at the end of those three months, the person in question still wished for a divorce, the priest would grant it. The procedure was the same if both parties wished for divorce, except there was only two months’ long of a ‘waiting period’—it was believed that if both parties wished for divorce, it was less likely that the marriage would be able to hold together.

Marriage after divorce was permitted, with no differences in the wedding rites. The priests of the Sage defended the permissibility of divorce even when secular authorities and religious authorities of other local faiths did not, which, again, led to friction.

Divorcees had to wait a year before remarrying, which was the same amount of time expected from those whose spouses had died. Divorce was seen as a sort of death; instead of the death of flesh, it was the death of the bond between two people. Who got custody of the children varied from region to region. On the mainland it was primarily the father who got custody, and typically the mother was only allowed to spend time with her children if the father permitted. Over time, the priests of Uzu no Kuni began to favor giving the mother full custody of the children. If the spouse who would normally have gotten custody had committed abuse, abandoned the family, or if the divorce took place in a region where custom ran contrary to these rules, it might well go differently.

Children were expected to care for their parents in their old age, or to at least make provision for their welfare, if such provision needed to be made. Exceptions were made if the parent or parents had been abusive, or had abandoned their children, or had committed some other crime against their children. Otherwise, if your parents took care of you when you were small, you were expected to repay their obligation by taking up one of your own.

** Vows **

Both priests and laypeople swore vows at some point in their lives. A vow was a binding promise, one invoking the Sage of Six paths that certain terms would be carried out. If not, it was understood that misfortune would befall the oath-breaker, and that the stain of oath-breaking would leave the soul impure in such a way as could not be absolved. As such, vows were not sworn lightly, and only on rare occasions were children allowed to swear vows. It wasn’t worth the risk of letting someone who didn’t fully understand the consequences make a vow and then break it.


End file.
